Dr. Oz calls it a sweeping nationwide scandal: men using power and proximity to sexually prey on the vulnerable.

The predators he’s talking about are not celebrities, congressmen or business moguls, though. They are closer to home.

In a segment dubbed “Doctor Evil” on his television program today, Oz talks with AJC Editor Kevin Riley, legal commentator Nancy Grace and Dr. Jennifer Ashton, the chief medical correspondent for ABC News, about doctors who sexually violate patients.

Thousands of doctors across the country have violated patients, Oz notes, citing The Atlanta Journal-Constitutions's national investigation. Too often, panelists said, the doctors don't lose their jobs – or even face public shaming.

How can that be, Oz asks? Riley told him that the vast majority of states don't require medical boards to report potential crimes to law enforcement. Find out which ones fall short at the AJC's state report cards on doctors and sex abuse.

Today's show aired at 3 p.m. on Channel 2 WSB-TV in Atlanta. Read more about the issue at Doctors.ajc.com.

RELATED: How does your state handle doctor sex abuse complaints? Highlights from AJC state-by-state report.

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