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The state Board of Medical Examiners has temporarily suspended the medical license of Dr. Bruce Pierce, Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the state Division of Consumer Affairs said in a news release on Monday, Dec. 2.
Dr. Pierce worked at Delaware Valley OBGYN & Princeton Midwifery in Lawrenceville. His biography was removed from the practice's website as of press time.
The doctor's suspension came after two female patients accused him of professional misconduct, gross negligence, and sexual exploitation during exams in 2023.
"Patients who submit to sensitive medical exams place their trust in the expertise and professionalism of their practitioner," Platkin said. "When physicians abuse that trust for their own sexual gratification, the consequences can be devastating."
The Professional Boards Prosecution section of the state Division of Law argued for the immediate and temporary suspension at a hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The petitioners argued that Dr. Pierce posed "a clear and imminent danger to the health, safety, and welfare of the public" if he was allowed to continue practicing.
The first accusation was from a woman identified as "Patient 1" who said Dr. Pierce had been her OB-GYN since the mid-1990s. After a normal breast, pelvic, and rectal exam in January 2023, Dr. Pierce dismissed a female chaperone with Patient 1 and asked to repeat the exam.
Patient 1 asked Dr. Pierce why a repeat was necessary and investigators said he told her "sometimes things change as we get older" and that he wanted to "double-check things to be sure." Patient 1 said she felt violated after the second exam.
After speaking with a work supervisor and her family, Patient 1 then reported the incident to Lawrence Township police, along with filing a complaint with the medical board.
"In her complaint, Patient 1 explained how the alleged misconduct by her trusted physician has negatively impacted her life and emotional health," said Platkin.
The other accusation was made by a woman identified as "Patient 2" who said Dr. Pierce was her OB-GYN for more than 20 years and delivered her child. She accused the doctor of inappropriate touching after she sought treatment for pelvic pain in December 2023.
After having an ultrasound conducted by a laboratory technician, Patient 2 was brought into an exam room and Dr. Pierce said her ultrasound looked fine. He also asked if she wanted to have a female chaperone during his exam of her but she declined.
Patient 2 accused Dr. Pierce of inappropriately touching her. She became uncomfortable with how he touched her, so she asked him to stop and he did.
During her testimony, Patient 2 said she declined a chaperone because she trusted Dr. Piece. She also testified that she never needed to request a chaperone in past visits with Dr. Pierce because one was always there.
About two hours after she left the practice, Dr. Pierce called Patient 2 from his personal cellphone to ask if she was "OK." She ended the call quickly and said she was "OK," despite testifying that she was upset from the incident.
Patient 2 then texted Dr. Pierce two days later, telling him that she was initially "in a state of shock" after the appointment but now was feeling "fury and disgust." She also called his behavior "unprofessional and unacceptable," and accused him of abusing "her good faith."
The patient also told Dr. Pierce that her "only mistake" was not requesting a chaperone before the exam but didn't believe one was needed because she trusted him as her longtime OB-GYN. Patient 2 also said she wouldn't use his practice again and was concerned about him committing similar misconduct with other patients.
Investigators said Dr. Pierce replied to Patient 2's text on the same day, saying: "Okay, I’m so sorry, I upset you. It will never happen again I do value our 20 plus year doctor patient relationship. Thank you for not making it public. My career will be over, and I don’t know what I would do. I hope you can forgive me. This will never happen again. I understand that you are leaving the practice, but I hope you will reconsider and give me one more chance."
Patient 2 then reported her claim to the state medical board to prevent Dr. Pierce from abusing other patients.
"In her complaint, Patient 2 said the incident has caused her significant distress and resulted in a distrust of health care professionals," Platkin said.
After hearing testimony and reviewing evidence, the board unanimously voted to suspend Dr. Pierce’s license. An official order formalizing the suspension was filed on Monday, Nov. 25.
The board described the patients' testimony as "credible, chilling, and compelling." It also said the women's testimony "detail incidents where [Pierce] sexually abused them, thereby shattering the trust placed upon him as a doctor and abusing that trust to enable him to act instead as a sexual predator."
Pierce's attorneys argued the state had not met the burden of proof to demonstrate an imminent danger to the public. The lawyers also argued there wasn't "sufficient time" for Dr. Pierce to commit the accused acts.
The board rejected these claims, stating that no measures short of a full suspension could ensure patient safety.
"[Pierce] engaged in conduct, which is entirely antithetical to medical practice, and runs wholly afoul of all physicians' obligations to do no harm to their patients," the board wrote in its temporary suspension order. "That conduct unquestionably presents a continuing and immediate danger to any and all of [Pierce’s] patients. There are no measures short of a full, immediate temporary suspension of license that we could craft which would adequately protect [Pierce’s] patients from such egregious conduct."
According to his LinkedIn profile, Dr. Pierce graduated in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in science from the College of Staten Island, which is part of the City University of New York system. He received his doctorate from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992 and completed his OB-GYN residency at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia in 1996.
The LinkedIn page said Dr. Pierce was previously the medical director of robotic surgery at Penn Medicine Princeton Health between 2010 and June 2022. He was also a clinical instructor for the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University between 2002 and 2018.
Dr. Pierce's suspension will remain in effect pending the outcome of a hearing with the state Office of Administrative Law and further action by the medical board.
Patients who believe they've been treated inappropriately by a healthcare provider should file a complaint with the state Division of Consumer Affairs on its website.
You can also call 1-800-242-5846 or 973-504-6200.
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