A California man is suing Torrance Memorial Physician Network in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and his physician, Elaine Jones, MD, for intentional infliction of emotional distress and libel after she listed "homosexual behavior" as a "chronic condition" on his medical records, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Matthew Moore went to see Dr. Jones for a routine checkup last April. When Mr. Moore returned to the office to discuss his physical results with Dr. Jones, homosexual behavior was listed as a chronic condition on his medical records and patient plan.
Mr. Moore said Dr. Jones defended the homosexuality diagnosis by saying there is still a debate within the medical community as to whether homosexuality is a disease. However, homosexuality has not been considered a mental illness since 1973, when the code for homosexual behaviors was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, according to the report.
In 2013, Torrance Health Association said the diagnosis code on Mr. Moore's record was a "human error," and notified Mr. Moore his medical record was corrected. However, a year later, homosexual behavior was still listed as a chronic condition on his record, and only the code associated with the diagnosis had been removed.
Mr. Moore filed his lawsuit against Dr. Jones, her network and the Torrance Health Association in July.
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