Every formal accusation or complaint regarding a medical professional’s alleged misconduct gets filtered through the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC). Here, this Office has a standard system for determining which claims they should give attention to and ultimately which medical professionals they should punish. Without further ado, please read on to discover the factors the OPMC considers when making a medical misconduct decision and how a seasoned OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer at Walker Medical Law can help you fight against this charge.
What factors does the OPMC consider before dismissing a misconduct complaint?
First of all, the OPMC must exhaust many resources to investigate a medical misconduct complaint all the way through. For this reason, the Board first filters through any complaints that lack substance or otherwise have to do with issues that do not fall under its jurisdiction. In this way, it may dismiss complaints concerning any of the following topics:
- A patient’s misunderstanding regarding their official diagnosis, treatment plan, medical billing, etc.
- A patient’s belief that a doctor’s wait times for appointments are too long or that their staff work too slowly.
- A patient’s perception of their doctor’s lack of care or respect for their condition (i.e., poor bedside manner).
- A patient’s belief that a doctor’s fees for administered services are too expensive (unless they believe fraud is involved).
What factors does the OPMC consider before making a medical misconduct charge?
If the OPMC’s checks and balances system confirms that a complaint indicates potential signs of medical misconduct, they may order an investigation to commence. The complaint may go to the OPMC’s hearing committee if further evidence is gathered upon investigation. Here, the committee may review the following factors to determine whether the medical professional should be charged with misconduct:
- Did the medical professional administer care to a patient while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or while dealing with a substance abuse issue?
- Did the medical professional exhibit signs of negligence or incompetence when administering care to their patient?
- Did the medical professional physically harm their patient in any way as a result of their negligent or incompetent behaviors or actions?
- Did the medical professional commit fraud against the patient (i.e., overbilling, billing for services never administered, etc.)?
- Did the medical professional violate the patient’s rights in any way (i.e., discrimination against a protected class, HIPAA violations, etc.)?
- Did the medical professional fail to maintain the patient’s medical records, which hindered their capability for care?
If the answer to any of these posed questions is “yes,” you may be severely punished for your act of misconduct. In conclusion, if you find yourself up against this, please do not go through it alone. Instead, pick up the phone and speak with a competent OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer. Our team at Walker Medical Law wishes to aid you during this difficult point in time.
