As a practicing medical professional, you may be very well respected by your patients and among the medical community. But it is always important to not let your ego inflate, to remain humble, and to always approach your practice with the best foot forward. That is, you are not invincible, and there is a higher power that may strike you down if necessary, so to speak. Specifically, the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) is authorized to discipline you for any wrongdoing. That said, please read on to discover when and how the OPMC or OPD might punish and how a seasoned OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer at Walker Medical Law can shield you from some of this backlash.

When might the OPMC or OPD punish me?

The OPMC or OPD may not go out of their way to seek you out and punish you. Rather, they may be prompted by a medical misconduct complaint that came across their desk from one of your patients, close family members or friends, fellow colleagues, or current employer.

If this complaint raises issues that fall under the OPMC or OPD’s jurisdiction, they may initiate an investigation against you. Then, if the investigation committee finds evidence suggesting your medical misconduct, they may schedule a hearing. Lastly, if the hearing board concludes that you are guilty of committing medical misconduct, they may order you to certain punishments.

In what ways might the OPMC or OPD punish me?

Now, the penalties that are warranted against you may depend on the exact act of medical misconduct you committed and the severity of its consequences. Without further ado, the OPMC or OPD may possibly punish you in any or all of the following ways:

  • They may order the permanent revocation or annulment of your New York State medical license.
  • They may order your license to become limited to a specified area or type of practice.
  • They may order the temporary suspension of your license for a fixed period of time.
  • They may order the temporary suspension of your license until you complete retraining, education, or rehabilitation.
  •  They may order a public censure and reprimand against you regarding the medical misconduct incident.
  • They may order your mandatory attendance at Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses.
  • They may order you to pay a fine of $10,000 for each medical misconduct offense.
  • They may order you to serve mandatory community service of up to 500 hours.
  • They may order you to probation for a fixed period of time and to adhere to its terms and conditions:
    • Submit to requests for randomly selected patient records.
    • Submit to requests for random alcohol or drug testing.
    • Submit to periodic visits by OPMC or OPD officials.
    • Submit to a monitor or chaperone at your place of work.

To conclude, you must be fully equipped to enter your upcoming defense. Your preparation is incomplete without hiring a competent OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer. Contact Walker Medical Law today.