Hartford – The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) is warning licensed health care practitioners of fraudulent phone calls from a person posing as a DPH employee requesting personal information.  State police are currently investigating.

Over the course of the last few days, DPH received inquiries from individuals who hold health care licenses regarding telephone calls from a person who stated they were with the Department of Public Health.  The person informed the licensee that there was no longer a license renewal grace period.  The person then requested the licensees’ email addresses.

The department has not been contacting licensees regarding a change in the license renewal process.  There has been no change in the grace period.  Health care practitioners may still renew their licenses up to 90 days after the license’s expiration date. 

Here are some tips on determining whether or not you receive a legitimate call from the Department of Public Health:

• For those with caller identification, all DPH calls will originate from the telephone number (860) 509-8000.

• If you are suspicious of a call, take down the person’s name and ask for their direct phone number so that you may call them back.  Hang up and call them back at the phone number they provided.  All phone numbers for DPH licensing staff begin with (860) 509-xxxx.

• You can check online to see if your license is current at https://www.elicense.ct.gov/.

• If you receive a suspicious telephone call from a person saying they are with the Department of Public Health, please call (860) 509-7590 or send an email to oplc.dph@ct.gov.  Try to write down as much information about the phone call as possible.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is the state’s leader in public health policy and advocacy with a mission to protect and promote the health and safety of the people of our state. To contact the department, please visit its website at www.ct.gov/dph or call (860) 509-7270.

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