John Hamilton

The Washington Post
Psychiatry Official From Md. Had Sex With Patient;
Columbia Doctor Quits as Officer of National Association After His License Is Suspended
By Stephen Buckley
March 6, 1992

— Excerpt

A Columbia psychiatrist resigned as an officer of the American Psychiatric Association Wednesday night after Maryland’s medical disciplinary board suspended his license for a year because he had a sexual relationship with a patient.

John Hamilton, 68, stepped down as a deputy medical director of the APA after the state Board of Physician Quality Assurance found him guilty of unprofessional conduct toward a 40-year-old woman being treated for the aftereffects of rape.

The suspension prohibits the psychiatrist from seeing any patients for a year and from writing prescriptions. After his suspension, he may treat only male patients until the end of a five-year probation period. Hamilton, who once supervised two state mental hospitals, also was ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling…