The New York State Department of Health announced on January 17, 2024, that it has issued a $300,000 penalty as part of a Stipulation and Order signed by a Nassau County midwife who created false immunization records. Roughly 1,500 school-aged children from throughout the State are affected by the vaccine scheme, which has resulted in their immunization records being voided.
After an investigation by the Department of Health’s Bureau of Investigations, the licensed midwife was found to have violated the Immunization Registry Law. The scheme included children from throughout New York State, with the majority being from Long Island, and includes children from as far away as Erie County.
The vaccination scheme began at the start of the 2019–2020 school year, just three months after the June 2019 elimination of non-medical exemptions for required school immunizations. The midwife supplied patients with the “Real Immunity Homeoprophylaxis Program,” a series of oral pellets marketed by an out-of-state homeopath as an alternative to vaccination. The homeopathic pellets are not authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the Department as an immunizing agent against any disease.
The midwife was found to have administered 12,449 fake immunizations to roughly 1,500 school-aged patients as pretext for submitting false information to the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS). The agreed-upon settlement reached between the Department and the midwife is the first of its kind addressing a scheme to create false immunization records. It includes a $300,000 monetary penalty and requires that the midwife never again administer a vaccination that must be reported to NYSIIS. In addition, she is permanently excluded from accessing NYSIIS under any circumstances.
The Department deleted all of the false immunization information that the midwife submitted to NYSIIS and is in the process of contacting all parents/guardians of affected children informing them that their child’s records of vaccinations are no longer valid and do not satisfy New York’s requirements for school entrance/attendance.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Licensed healthcare personnel are expected to exhibit honesty, accuracy, and integrity in the provision of care, including performing assessments, reporting changes in condition, acknowledging errors in practice and reporting them promptly, accurately charting and reporting, implementing care as ordered, complying with all laws and Rules affecting the practice of healthcare professions and complying with the related standards of practice. Falsifying documents regarding care, incomplete or inaccurate documentation of care, failure to provide the care documented, or other acts of deception or omission raise serious concerns about an individual’s ability to provide safe care and prevents subsequent caregivers from having a complete and accurate picture of the resident’s care and condition. Falsifying vaccination records is a serious offense and can be viewed as fraud. Quick action should be taken when falsified medical records are discovered.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures for following standards of care and requirements for documentation in medical records. Update as needed.
- Train all appropriate staff on your policies and procedures for following standards of care and meeting regulatory requirements for medical record content as set forth in F842 Medical Records. Document that these trainings occurred and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit medical records to ensure that documentation is complete, meets standards for content and timeliness, and that entries have not been falsified or erroneously reported in any way.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
