You may learn that one of your colleagues, the health facility you are employed with, or even one of your patients, friends, or family members reported you to the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD). Understandably, you may be shell shocked and feel utterly blindsided with this news. You may not be able to help yourself but to simply ask, why did this happen? Well, if you are a doctor, please continue reading to learn why you might get reported and how an experienced OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer at Walker Medical Law can step in to defend you if it gets to this point.
As a doctor, why might I be reported to the OPMC?
Different parties may come forward to report you for varying reasons. Overall, though, the general theme is that they may suspect you of committing medical misconduct. More specific examples of this read as follows:
- Your friend or family member may suspect that your substance abuse issue is affecting your work as a practicing medical professional.
- Your patient may believe you sexually harassed, abused, or intimidated them during one of your scheduled appointments or after hours.
- Your colleague may believe you refused to provide medical treatment to a certain patient based on race, color, religion, or national origin.
- Your employer may believe you ordered excessive tests or treatments for a patient to exploit them and potentially attempt medical billing fraud.
It is worth mentioning that all licensed medical professionals in New York State are required by law to report colleagues whom they suspect of medical misconduct. This is because a failure to report may, in turn, result in being guilty of such misconduct themselves. Similarly, state law requires health facility employers, along with health maintenance organizations, to report any disciplinary actions they take against their employees in response to medical misconduct.
What reports might the OPMC decide to dismiss?
The OPMC and OPD receive thousands of complaints per year; however, they only investigate those they believe to have a foundation of medical misconduct or are otherwise deemed to fall under their jurisdiction. With that being said, the OPMC may not follow up on a report that has to do with any of the following:
- Your friend or family member may wrongly assume that your poor communication skills affect your doctor-patient relationships.
- Your patient may have perceived your poor attitude or “bedside manner” during a scheduled appointment as a lack of care.
- Your colleagues may have subjectively disagreed with the treatment plan you prescribed for your patient.
- Your employer may have misinterpreted which tests and treatments you billed your patient for.
At any rate, if you are ready to obtain legal representation, now is a better time than ever to contact a skilled OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer. Walker Medical Law is here to help.
