"The shame of America" fact sheet about Dr. Serafina Corsello and her "war" with the New York State Department of Health — OPMC - Office of Professional Medical Conduct

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, August-Sept, 2002

Who is Dr. Serafina Corsello?

Dr. Serafina Corsello is a Complementary, Alternative Medicine (CAM) doctor practicing in New York City. Born and raised in Italy, she was inspired to pursue medicine by her grandmother. For more than 35 years, she has helped to heal her patients with non-toxic, noninvasive methods. Dr. Corsello is an internationally respected clinician, author and lecturer and is a co-founder of the Foundation for the Advancement of Innovative Medicine (FAIM). Dr. Corsello was also one of the 25 physicians chosen by the National Institute of Health to participate in the formation of the Office of Alternative Medicine,

What are the "Corsello Centers"?

The Corsello Centers were Dr. Corsello's realization of a life-long dream. During her fierce fight with the OPMC she was forced to close the Long Island office and was mandated to change the name of her Manhattan office of which she presently is the Administrative Director. The interim name is the Wellness Medical Center. The Center specializes in treating chronic medical conditions with alternative and complementary therapies such as antioxidant intravenous infusions, chelation, nutritional counseling, nutritional supplementation, energy balancing, acupuncture, stress management and more, as is applicable to the patient's condition.

What is the OPMC?

The OPMC is an acronym for the Office of Professional Medical Conduct. The stated purpose of this office is: "The Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) is responsible for investigating complaints about physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants. The Office also monitors practitioners who have been placed on probation. The Office serves as staff to the Board of Professional Medical Conduct, which is comprised of some 200 physicians and lay members. Board members are responsible for the adjudication of cases and for developing direction and policy regarding medical conduct issues." (From the website: www.health.state.nv.us/nysdoh/opmc/main.htm)

The OPMC essentially serves as the "medical police" for the state of New York, and unfortunately they are biased against CAM practitioners.

Why did OPMC want to take Dr. Corsello's license?

The OPMC represents an entrenched mindset in the medical community that is biased against alternative and complementary therapies. These non-toxic and beneficial therapies are not "accepted medical practice" according to the OPMC and are, therefore, subject to persecution. What the OPMC represents is the closed-minded and reactionary attitude of the allopathic medical community, which stands to lose millions of dollars to the CAM community. And that is the ultimate issue: money. The OPMC is trying to set a precedent that will deny patients any options other than allopathic care, so that the doctors who engage in "accepted medical practice" will not face financial loss. By taking legal action against Dr. Corsello, the OPMC has positioned itself to eliminate CAM practitioners from the larger medical picture.

Has OPMC done things like this in the past?

Dr. Corsello is not the first CAM practitioner to face harassment at the hands of the OPMC. CAM practitioners like Dr. Warren Levin, Dr. Robert Atkins, Dr. Michael Schachter, and the late Dr. Emmanuel Revici were all targets pf OPMC attacks. There are even certain allopathic doctors, such as Dr. Joseph Burrascano, who face persecution from the OPMC for using treatments that are effective, but which do not meet the criteria for "accepted medical care."

How was Dr. Corsello denied due process?

Dr. Corsello did not have the opportunity to defend herself from the OPMC's charges. Due to an alleged technical mistake by a previous attorney, who the State says did not file a written response to the charges in a timely way, the OPMC judge took the opportunity to rule that Dr. Corsello, by default, "had admitted" to their ridiculous charges. Dr. Corsello made many unsuccessful attempts to address the dangerous implication of her supposed "admission." Her attempts were always blocked. Her new team of competent and dedicated attorneys will challenge this injustice. They have already brought her case in front of the New York State Appellate Division, and if justice is not achieved there, they are ready to go all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Why is this process taking so long?

In order to be heard by the judges, the Attorney General of New York State, who is in charge of defending the health department position, is creating obstacles in expediting the approval of our brief. Legally, he has up to 45 days to reply. Interestingly enough, on the first round of reviewing the brief, he found no problems. On the second round of the final brief, which had no substantial changes, he now chooses to exercise his right to take up to 45 days. The Corsello Coalition believes these postponement strategies are aimed at bankrupting her. This tactic has been advocated in the website of the Federation of Medical Boards and reported in the forthcoming book The War against Alternative Medicine. Our attorneys are telling us that the 3rd Circuit Appellate Division in Albany will now hear our case in September.