Here's how doctors and nurses get disciplined in Delaware

It all starts with a complaint.

It can be from a patient, a health care provider, a state agency or another state. 

This is the starting point in Delaware to determine if doctors and nurses, or any profession that requires a license, have violated a state code. 

From January 2015 to July 2019, at least 80 doctors have been disciplined by the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, according to analysis by Delaware Online/The News Journal. From 2015 to Oct. 10, 2019, the state has disciplined 312 nurses for a multitude of reasons.

The Division of Professional Regulation will look into every complaint made against a medical provider, but will only go forward with those that involve a potential breach of a Delaware code, said division director David Mangler.

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Each complaint is "triaged" by its urgency and assigned a state investigator and a Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline member, Mangler said. The investigator will then send a report to the Attorney General's office if they believe a statute has been violated. 

The Attorney General's office will review the report and decide whether to file a formal complaint against the doctor, said Deputy Attorney General Zoe Plerhoples. 

A doctor or a nurse can request an administrative hearing, in which they go before a hearing officer who will listen to arguments on both sides. The hearing officer will then make a recommendation to the board, which could include a disciplinary action. 

To see if your doctor was disciplined, check this searchable list. 

Typically, the options for disciplinary action are a letter of reprimand, a fine, suspension, probation or revocation of the medical license. The discipline could also come with conditions, such as saying the medical professional needs more training. 

The board can follow or disagree with the hearing officer's recommendation. 

Licensees can also enter into consent agreements to settle the case. Plerhoples said these are similar to criminal pleas, in that they are an "admission to conduct and that conduct violates the law." 

The board will then view the consent agreement, and if a majority of members disagree with the disciplinary action, it can sent back for renegotiation or for a hearing.

While she could not say the percentage of cases that result in consent agreement, Plerhoples said "a lot" of cases resolve this way.  

To file a complaint against a doctor or a nurse, go to dpr.delaware.gov or call 302-744-4500. 

Have you written a complaint against your doctor? If so, contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or mnewman@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @MereNewman.