As a medical professional, you may want nothing more than to provide your patients with the utmost care. This is why it is nothing less than devastating if they express their dissatisfaction with your provided treatments. What’s worse, specifically for your reputation and career as a whole, is if they go as far as to accuse you of medical misconduct. Read on to discover what actions to take after being accused of medical misconduct and how one of the seasoned New York physician defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law can help shoulder these responsibilities.
How do I know that I have been accused of medical misconduct?
Your patient may have made a flippant comment insinuating your committing of medical misconduct, which your other patients, colleagues, or employer may have overheard. Or, they may have filed a formal medical misconduct complaint with your employer; who was then obligated to take it to the New York Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) or Office of Professional Discipline (OPD). Regardless of the degree to which your patient has made this accusation, you must not take it lightly. That is, the following are examples of serious medical misconduct accusations:
- You have been accused of practicing fraudulently.
- You have been accused of practicing with gross incompetence or gross negligence.
- You have been accused of practicing while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You have been accused of practicing while struggling with a physical or mental disability.
- You have been accused of practicing while harassing, abusing, or intimidating the patient.
- You have been accused of performing healthcare services not previously authorized by the patient.
- You have been accused of refusing treatment because of the patient’s race, creed, color, or national origin.
What actions should I take after being accused of medical misconduct?
Immediately after being accused of medical misconduct, there is no question that the first thing you should do is retain legal representation from a skilled physician defense lawyer. You may even want to do this before you get word from the OPMC or OPD. This is because you should not and cannot possibly go through the investigation and hearing alone.
Then, you may want to begin collecting evidence to build up your defense. This starts with the patient’s medical records. Hopefully, your employer enforces a comprehensive, standard method for keeping patient charts up-to-date. Importantly, you should not make changes or corrections to the patient’s chart after the fact, to not compromise the proof. Your lawyer may take the bulk of the workload from here.
In conclusion, you must deeply reflect on the gravity of the situation at hand. Once you do, you must drop everything and reach out to one of the competent New York physician defense lawyers at Walker Medical Law.
