REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
- Northwestern Medicine, a Chicago-based healthcare system, told Insider it would "review" the care of R. Kelly's doctor.
- Kris McGrath testified that he treated the singer for free while going to concerts around the US.
- Prosecutors allege Kelly knowingly gave STDs to some of his victims.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
A Chicago-based healthcare system told Insider it will institute a review of R. Kelly's former doctor, following testimony that he treated the singer for free while traveling around the country with him for parties and concerts.
The doctor, Kris McGrath, took the stand on Thursday to testify about his 25-year social and professional relationship with the accused sex criminal. McGrath said he first diagnosed Kelly with herpes in 2000, following years of treatment for other sexually transmitted diseases.
Earlier in the trial, Jerhonda Pace, a woman accusing the R&B artist of sexual misconduct, separately testified that a male doctor diagnosed her with herpes at the singer's home in suburban Chicago.
Chris King, a spokesperson for Northwestern Medicine, told Insider on Saturday that the healthcare system would institute a review of how McGrath treated patients.
"Our highest priority is the health and safety of our patients," King told Insider. "Now learning this information, a review of patient care provided by Dr. McGrath will be initiated."
McGrath, who specializes in internal medicine and allergy and immunology, has been registered as a physician in Illinois since 1980, according to state records. Regulatory records stretching back to 1990 show no history of discipline, and the doctor has received numerous awards in his decades-long career. In addition to his medical practice, McGrath teaches at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
The doctor did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
McGrath testified that he first met Kelly - whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly - in 1994 through Darryl McDavid, a patient of his who worked as the singer's accountant.
Kelly had experienced pain in his genital area and was concerned about having chlamydia, McGrath wrote in his notes shown to jurors at the trial. McGrath said he treated Kelly for other diseases including herpes, which is incurable.
Federal prosecutors have accused Kelly of operating a criminal enterprise that trafficked and exploited girls for sex. Among the charges against Kelly are allegations that he did not inform his victims that he had herpes, an apparent violation of New York state health law.
McGrath told the court that Kelly appeared to flout his advice to practice safe sex. Over time, McGrath said, Kelly had more severe and frequent herpes outbreaks. McGrath said he prescribed drugs to treat Kelly's herpes so often that he memorized the number of the Walgreens where he called in the prescription, and rattled it off to the jury.
The doctor said Kelly never paid him for his 25 years of treatment. Kelly did, however, fly him around the country for concerts and invite him and his wife to parties and dinners.
McGrath also often went to the singer's studios to listen to him perform music, he said, and the two often went to cigar bars together.
Kelly's trial, in Brooklyn federal court, is expected to last for another three weeks.