This statistic has remained relatively constant over the past 10 years. However, a recent article published in JAMA found that the most common reasons that state medical boards take disciplinary action against a physician include the following:nnSexual misconduct: This involves behavior that exploits the physician-patient relationship in a sexual way. The behavior can be physical or verbal. Sexual misconduct and sexual boundary issues were one of the top three reasons that state medical boards took disciplinary action against physicians for unprofessional behavior. Although 15 percent of cases were cited as sexual misconduct or sexual boundary issues, the actual number is likely higher because medical boards use a range of terms to describe these actions, including unprofessional conduct, physician-patient boundary issues, and moral unfitness. Physicians have an ethical duty to report any actual or suspected sexual misconduct. A failure to do so can result in disciplinary action for unprofessional conduct, license suspension, fines of up to $100,000, and other consequences.