The Office of Professional Medical Conduct is the entity in charge of investigating complaints filed against physicians in New York. Many complaints are issued annually, and most are pointlessly filed by patients looking for a handout or doing little more than telling on a physician for not following the patient’s rules. These are unsubstantiated claims as they don’t indicate a physician broke any laws or behaved in an unethical manner. When a physician is thought to have done either/or, an investigation is opened. The physician’s license is looked into, and the claims must be proven.
Common Physician Violations
There are dozens of things a physician might end up in trouble for, but most of them fall into specific categories:
- Billing fraud
- Negligence
- Sexual misconduct
- Addiction
| Violation Type | What It Involves | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Billing Fraud | Sending falsified bills to patients and/or insurance companies | Duplicated bills mailed twice, administrative transcription errors, willful fraud to increase bottom line |
| Negligence | Physician doesn’t behave appropriately and patient suffers as result | Showing up exhausted, not reading patient chart correctly, providing medication patient is allergic to |
| Sexual Misconduct | Inappropriate physical or verbal conduct with patients | Touching patient inappropriately, coming onto patient, making inappropriate comments |
| Addiction | Issues with drugs or alcohol affecting professional conduct | Showing up drunk or high to work, substance abuse complaints from patients or employees |
