Laboratory Investigations Unit
Complaints NOT reviewed by this office
- Hospital, diagnostic, ambulatory surgical, dialysis and treatment centers, and primary care clinic issues in New York State are reported to the Department of Health[1].
- Billing issues, including consumer health care rights and billing, are reported to the Attorney General's Office Health Care Bureau[2].
- Insurance issues, including health insurance products offered in New York State, are reported to the Department of Financial Services[3].
- HIPAA privacy violations are reported to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights[4] (OCR).
- Misconduct by licensed physicians, related only to the care provided by a physician in private practice, is reported to the Office of Professional Medical Conduct[5] or 1-800-663-6114.
- Attitudes of facility or clinical staff may be reported to a representative at the facility.
Complaints about New York State Environmental and Clinical Laboratories
The New York State Department of Health Wadsworth Center's Division of Laboratory Quality Certification’s quality and regulatory programs are responsible for providing oversight of clinical and environmental laboratories, blood banks, tissue banks, blood and breath alcohol testing for vehicle and traffic enforcement, and facilities that utilize living animals.
These programs monitor compliance with public health law and licensure requirements to ensure accurate, reliable, reproducible test results are obtained from specimens or samples tested in or from New York State.
Generally, only those complaints concerning issues that occurred within the past year will be considered. However, NOT all complaints will be assigned for investigation. Please note that complaints must be submitted in writing.
To file a complaint, you may complete the Facuility Complaint Form below and return it by email to LIU@health.ny.gov[6] or by mail to the US Postal Service Address on this page.
If you are unable to email or print this form, please call the toll-free number at 1-800-682-6056 and someone will assist you.
All complaints are reviewed by professional staff using established guidelines to determine if a complaint will be assigned for investigation. You will be notified of the outcome of this review in writing. Any future correspondence regarding the same issues will not affect the outcome of this decision.