To file a complaint against a doctor in New York, send a completed DOH-3867 complaint form to the state’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC), a division of the Department of Health that investigates licensed physicians, physician assistants, and specialist assistants. You can also call the OPMC hotline at 1-800-663-6114 for help before you file. The process is free, your identity is kept confidential during the investigation, and New York law shields you from civil liability for reporting in good faith.
What OPMC Can Act On
OPMC investigates professional misconduct as defined by New York Education Law Section 6530.1New York State Senate. New York Education Law 6530 – Definitions of Professional Misconduct The statute lists more than 30 categories. The ones patients most often report include gross negligence or a pattern of negligent or incompetent care, practicing while impaired by drugs or alcohol or by a physical or mental condition, any sexual contact with a patient, fraud, criminal convictions, failure to keep accurate patient records, and ordering tests or treatment that aren’t warranted by the patient’s condition.
OPMC does not handle billing disputes, long wait times, rude behavior, or general dissatisfaction when no clinical standard was breached. Complaints about care in a hospital go to the Department of Health’s Centralized Hospital Intake Program at 1-800-804-5447; managed care plan complaints go to 1-800-206-8125; suspected Medicare or Medicaid fraud goes to the federal Office of Inspector General at oig.hhs.gov.2New York State Department of Health. Your Rights as a Hospital Patient in New York State – Section 13Office of Inspector General. General Questions Regarding Certain Fraud and Abuse Authorities
What to Gather Before You File
A tight, organized complaint moves faster through OPMC’s review. Before you fill out the form, pull together:
- The doctor’s full name, office address, and specialty.
- The patient’s full name, date of birth, and contact information. You do not need to be the patient to file.
- Specific dates of the treatment or incidents, or your best approximation.
- A written chronological account of what the doctor did or failed to do, and what resulted.
- Names and contact information for anyone who witnessed the events or has relevant information.
- Copies — never originals — of medical records, lab results, prescriptions, correspondence, or photographs.
The form also asks whether you’ve already complained about the same doctor to another agency. If you have, say so on the form.4New York State Department of Health. DOH-3867 – Complaint Form for the Office of Professional Medical Conduct
How to Submit the Form
Download form DOH-3867 from the Department of Health’s website.5New York State Department of Health. File a Complaint Print it, complete it in ink, and sign it. Unsigned complaints will not be processed.4New York State Department of Health. DOH-3867 – Complaint Form for the Office of Professional Medical Conduct
Mail the signed form and your supporting copies to:
NYS Department of Health
Office of Professional Medical Conduct
Central Intake Unit
Riverview Center
150 Broadway, Suite 355
Albany, NY 12204-27194New York State Department of Health. DOH-3867 – Complaint Form for the Office of Professional Medical Conduct
If you have questions, call 1-800-663-6114, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, or email opmc@health.ny.gov.6New York State Department of Health. Contact Us There is no statute of limitations for public complaints. You can file no matter how long ago the incident happened.
What Happens After You File
OPMC staff first screen the complaint to decide whether it falls within the agency’s jurisdiction and whether the facts, if true, would amount to professional misconduct. You should receive an acknowledgment that it was received.
If the complaint moves forward, OPMC opens a formal investigation. Investigators review medical records, interview the people involved, and consult physicians with expertise in the relevant specialty. OPMC can compel the doctor to cooperate, produce records, and sit for an interview with an investigator and a medical director.7New York State Department of Health. Understanding New York’s Medical Conduct Program – Physician Discipline You may be contacted during this phase for more information.
Your Identity Stays Confidential
Under Public Health Law Section 230, OPMC’s investigation files are confidential and are not released publicly while an investigation is ongoing. The doctor does not learn your identity unless the case advances to formal charges and a hearing, and even then OPMC controls what is shared.8New York State Department of Health. Frequently Asked Questions9New York State Department of Health. Public Health Law Section 230 – State Board for Professional Medical Conduct
How Long It Takes
Set expectations here. OPMC has no published time standards for completing investigations. A simple case can close in weeks. A complex one — multiple patients, outside expert review, coordination with law enforcement — can run more than a year. Impairment cases carry a 90-day internal target.
What OPMC Can Do to the Doctor
If the investigation finds no evidence of misconduct, the complaint is dismissed. If investigators find enough to proceed, a Department of Health attorney prepares a Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges. The doctor can then appear before a hearing committee, call witnesses, and present a defense.
The hearing committee makes findings of fact and, if it concludes misconduct occurred, recommends a penalty. The State Board for Professional Medical Conduct can impose:
- License revocation, permanently ending the doctor’s right to practice in New York.
- License suspension for a set period.
- Limits on the procedures or patients the doctor can handle.
- Censure and reprimand on the doctor’s record.
- Mandatory education or retraining.
- Fines.
- Community service related to the profession.
Once the Board issues formal charges or a final determination, those documents become public and are posted on the Department of Health’s website.9New York State Department of Health. Public Health Law Section 230 – State Board for Professional Medical Conduct
A Complaint Is Not a Lawsuit
OPMC cannot award you money. Its job is to protect the public by disciplining doctors who violate professional standards, so the question it asks is whether the conduct met the legal definition of misconduct, not whether you suffered financial harm.
A medical malpractice lawsuit is a separate civil case filed in court, where you seek damages for injuries caused by a doctor’s negligence. Those cases require proof of duty, breach, causation, and damages. New York generally requires you to sue within two years and six months of the act of malpractice.
You can do both. Filing an OPMC complaint does not block a lawsuit, and suing does not block a complaint. Many patients pursue both, because the goals differ: OPMC addresses the doctor’s license, and a lawsuit addresses your losses. If you believe you were injured, talking to a malpractice attorney alongside filing with OPMC keeps both options open.
Protection for Reporting in Good Faith
Public Health Law Section 230(11)(b) makes anyone who provides information to the Board for Professional Medical Conduct in good faith and without malice immune from civil lawsuits arising from the report.4New York State Department of Health. DOH-3867 – Complaint Form for the Office of Professional Medical Conduct Good faith means you genuinely believe misconduct occurred. If OPMC investigates and finds the allegation unsubstantiated, you are not liable. The immunity drops away only if the report was knowingly false or filed with malicious intent.
Checking a Doctor’s Existing Record
Before or after you file, you can look up a doctor through two public resources. The New York State Physician Profile at nydoctorprofile.com covers every doctor licensed in the state and includes education, accepted insurance plans, and any legal actions taken against the doctor.10New York State Physician Profile. New York State Physician Profile – Home For the underlying disciplinary documents — charges, hearing committee findings, and penalties in completed cases — use the Department of Health’s final actions page.11New York State Department of Health. Final Actions Pending investigations stay confidential and will not appear in either database until the case is formally resolved.