I represent many doctors from out-of-state who also have New York State licenses. Even if they haven’t been here for years, New York State Department of Health and Office of Professional Medical Conduct still holds jurisdiction over them if they do something wrong in another state. The most recent case was a doctor from Oregon who had been disciplined to a great extent for lying on some applications about his medical past. This led to some very serious repercussions. The only job he could get was as a prison physician. He was about to be prosecuted by New York State for the deceit.
I talked to New York State as I do routinely when faced with these kinds of issues. Indeed, he did have a New York license. I found that he had been granted a New York license just a few months after the conduct that got him in trouble in Oregon was decided. Therefore, I convinced OPMC that they did not have jurisdiction over this doctor. At the time of the conduct and at the time he was disciplined in Oregon, he did not have a New York State license. They simply did not have jurisdiction over him and therefore, no further punishment was issued.
I guess the moral of this story is you really have to look for anything you can to help these doctors because New York State will come after you if you did something wrong in another jurisdiction, regardless of how long you have been out of New York State.
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