Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains: Most Common Reasons for Chiropractor Discipline

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Chiropractors are a vital part of the medical community. That said, like any other medical professional, they face scrutiny from licensing boards and have false allegations made against them from time to time. They are obviously human as well and are susceptible to mistakes in judgment. I have much enjoyed my representation of chiropractors, and am often asked by my chiropractor clients about what the most common reasons that their peers find themselves before the state licensing board. I have drafted this post to answer that question.

If you are a chiropractor in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation that jeopardizes your professional license, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot work your way through this alone.

Most Common Reasons for Chiropractor Discipline

Insurance Fraud: Medicare fraud is the most common reason chiropractors lose their licenses. Insurance fraud can be committed by engaging in fictitious billing for services that were not rendered and prescribing unnecessary procedures.

Negligence/Malpractice: An allegation of negligence/malpractice arises when a patient alleges that a chiropractor failed to meet the standard of care for a procedure and the patient suffered an injury as a result.

Criminal Convictions: A criminal conviction may result in a licensure action, but it often depends on the type and severity of the conviction. For example, a conviction for reckless driving is unlikely to have any effect on a chiropractor’s license, but a conviction for illegal drug distribution most likely will.  Similarly, any conviction that suggests that the chiropractor may not be safe with the public or the public’s money, such as convictions for sexual assault, domestic violence, or fraud, may trigger a suspension action.

Sexual misconduct: Chiropractors should not have a sexual relationship with a patient.  This is strictly enforced. What I commonly see is a consensual relationship that started gradually and in conjunction with treatment. When the relationship was going well, the chiropractor thought there was no harm in pursuing it; however, when the relationship was discovered or ended, a complaint arose.

Illegally Prescribing Medications: There is an opioid epidemic in the United States right now, and some of its cause is medical professionals who overprescribed addictive drugs or provided prescriptions to drug-seeking patients who were already addicted. Be scrupulous in your prescription practices to avoid allegations of misconduct.

How Can a Chiropractor Prevent License Suspension or Revocation?

While an allegation may have been made against you, that does not mean that you will be suspended. Before you can have any disciplinary action taken against you, you must receive “due process,” meaning that you must receive the specific allegations against you, the evidence supporting those allegations, and an opportunity to prevent your version of events and evidence at a hearing. With the help of an experienced licensing attorney, you can often have the allegations against you dismissed or reduced. Going through this process alone is foolhardy.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your chiropractic license.  An inquiry from your licensing board means that your livelihood is in jeopardy. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients or clients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains Why Physicians Should Think Twice About “Voluntary Suspensions” of Medical Licenses

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I have seen physician’s lives and careers devastated because they agreed to a “voluntary suspension” of their medical license or a restriction on their license while the medical board investigates allegations of misconduct. While the physician under investigation believed that the voluntary suspension would be brief and that it would put them in a good light with investigators, both assumptions were incorrect. In fact, the suspension lasted far longer than initially hoped, and agreeing to the voluntary suspension ended up having a host of negative consequences.

If you are a physician in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation that jeopardizes your professional license, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Do not agree to any suspension of any kind or speak to an investigator without an attorney to defend you. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone.

Expect Suspensions to Last Longer Than Promised

Physicians under investigation are sometimes asked to sign an Interim Stipulated Order (ISO) or Interim Consent Order (ICO) accepting a voluntary restriction on their license or, even worse, suspending their practice pending the outcome of the investigation. These requests are usually accompanied by a suggestion that the suspension will be brief. However, these investigations often take a year or longer, especially in the case of physicians. Additionally, there are other ramifications of a “temporary suspension,” such as:

Reports to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)

If you consent to an interim restriction on your license, that restriction will be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). You will have to deal with any consequences of the report to the NPDB on your career, even though no allegation has been proven.

Withdrawal of Board Certification, Credentialing, and Employment

If your medical license is temporarily suspended, you should anticipate that your board certifications will also likely be withdrawn. The suspension of the license and withdrawal of board certification will frequently result in an employer terminating the employee as well. Accordingly, a voluntary suspension ends up being a death sentence for your career.

DEA Registrations

If you are a prescribing physician, you must also consider the serious impact of a restricted license on your DEA Registration. To hold a DEA Registration, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requires every DEA Registrant physician to possess a medical license granting state authority to prescribe controlled substances. So if you agree to a restriction on your prescribing privileges or consent to voluntarily withdraw from your medical practice while you await the outcome of an investigation, you should anticipate a request to surrender your DEA Registration. 

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your professional license.  If you are a physician under investigation and your licensing Board requests that you consent to restrictions on your medical license, you need to know that the restriction will probably last more than a few months and there are numerous other consequences to consider depending upon your type of practice and level of licensure.

An inquiry from a licensing board means that your livelihood is in jeopardy. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients or clients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains the Effects of a DUI or DWI on Your Career as Medical Professional

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In Kansas, it’s called a DUI. In Missouri, it’s called a DWI. Either way, it can spell big problems for your career as a medical professional. I have helped many medical professionals through the licensure and employment issues associated with an arrest for driving while impaired and can help you as well. But too many professionals fail to attain the help of an experienced licensing attorney when they receive a notice of investigation or violation.  This failure ends up making the state’s job far too easy. Because I get so many calls asking about the career effects of a DUI/DWI conviction, I wrote the following blog post to explain the many ramifications.

If you are a professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation that jeopardizes your professional license, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot work your way through this alone.

The Effects of a DUI/DWI

There is no question that a DUI/DWI conviction can have a significant impact on your life. While for some people it is a sign that they have a drinking problem, for others, it signifies a one-time mistake in judgment. Regardless, it has a greater impact on those in the medical field than those in other professions, as medical professionals have a heightened responsibility to appear free from intoxicating substances and often have state licensing boards that look unkindly on any criminal conviction.  Having advised countless medical professionals regarding their recent arrest for DUI/DWI, here are the most common effects:

Professional Licensure Loss, Suspension, or Discipline– A medical professional often has to report an arrest and usually must report a conviction to his or her licensing body. You will want to consult with an experienced licensing attorney before making the report. You want to avoid doing more damage than you have to in making this report, and an experienced attorney that has a relationship with the board can help you frame the issue in a light most favorable to the license holder.

Contractual Requirements—Many medical employers see a DUI/DWI arrest or conviction as a signal of an employee with a substance abuse problem. Many hospitals and clinics require employees to disclose any arrest within a certain amount of time. Again, this is the sort of disclosure you want to make with the help of an experienced licensing attorney. Having worked with many medical professionals on similar issues, a skilled attorney likely knows how to disclose in a way least harmful to your career.  That said, some employers make criminal charges a ground for suspension or even termination, so you will want to review your employee handbook with your attorney as well.

Lack of transportation—While your DUI/DWI is pending, you will likely be prevented from driving for a period, often months. This is an inconvenience and makes getting to and from work difficult. It can also be independent grounds for termination if your position requires a valid driver’s license.

Leave Issues—An arrest for DUI/DWI will likely require your presence at least one or two hearings. If you go to trial to contest your case, you will likely spend another few days in court. If you are convicted, you may have to serve days or weeks in jail depending on the severity of your case. Even if you accept a plea agreement, that too will require a hearing. In the end, you may have to miss several days of work, which your employer may not look upon warmly.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your professional license.  Whether it is a medical, counseling, nursing, accounting, veterinary or any other type of license, a DUI/DWI can mean that your livelihood is in jeopardy. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients or clients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains: Is My Licensure Case Criminal or Civil?

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Medical professionals often come to my office for a consultation and one of the first questions they ask is “is this a criminal or civil?” I don’t blame them for being confused, as depending on the conduct in question, it could end up being civil, criminal, or both. Because I so often get questions about the intricacies of these matters, I have written the following blog post to explain the difference between civil and criminal matters and the legal implications of your disciplinary board matter.

If you are a professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an allegation of misconduct or an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot work your way through alone.

The Difference Between Civil and Criminal Matters

To start the basics, a civil matter is one where the state seeks to take some “property” from you.  Now, you may think of property like physical property such as a car or land, but you also have a property interest in your license as a medical professional. You also have a property interest in your good name and reputation. You’ll remember from the U.S. Constitution’s 5th Amendment that the federal government cannot take your life, liberty, or property without due process of law.  The same holds true for state governments.  As a result, the state cannot take your professional license or your interest in your reputation without “due process.” Due process means an opportunity to know what the accusations are against you, an opportunity to review the evidence against you, and a hearing where you and your attorney can confront or attack those accusations and evidence with your own evidence. A civil matter may result in having some property—like your license—taken or suspended or having a fine imposed.

Criminal matters involve having your liberty taken by the state—they result in the accused going to jail if he or she is convicted.  A district attorney files a criminal matter in court, and you would usually learn of the charges by being served by a police officer or by being arrested. Because a loss of liberty, incarceration, is viewed as a more severe deprivation, more due process is required.  The standard of proof—beyond a reasonable doubt—is higher in a criminal case, a jury usually judges guilt or innocence, and the hearing or trial is much more formal.

If you receive a letter in the mail from a state administrative agency indicating that a licensure action or investigation has initiated against you, that administrative matter is civil in nature and not criminal. The letter signals that the state is starting your due process rights and alerting you to your opportunity to engage in that due process.

When Criminal and Civil Matters Overlap

If you have watched any amount of television, you have probably seen a crime drama where the criminal being arrested is given his Miranda warning of, “you have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”  While the crime drama may be just television, those rights are real.  That warning is relevant to you as well.

Take as an example, a pharmacist who is giving his relatives opioids for their pain without a prescription. If the state pharmacy board is alerted to this practice, the pharmacist will likely receive a notice of accusations in the mail, initiating his due process rights. That letter is a civil matter. If he is found to have violated the pharmacy regulations by a preponderance of the evidence—by a likelihood of at least 51%—he will have a civil penalty such as a fine, suspension, or license revocation. However, distributing opioids without a prescription is also a crime.

If the pharmacist in the above example admits in his civil hearing before the pharmacy board that he has been distributing opioids, that information can be used against him criminally. A statement made in a civil hearing, like any statement, can be used against you. The Assistant Attorney General who prosecuted the pharmacist’s licensing issue can simply hand the transcript of his admission to an Assistant District Attorney who can then charge the pharmacist with drug distribution.

As I stated above, the burden of proof in a criminal case is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which is much higher than the civil hearing’s “preponderance of the evidence” standard. But if the pharmacist has admitted to distributing the opioids, that unequivocal admission will likely meet either standard.

As a result, a civil matter can easily turn into a criminal one if the conduct alleged violates both the state regulations that govern your medical field as well as the criminal statutes. While the example above dealt with opioid distribution, I have also seen civil cases transform into criminal ones in cases alleging sex with a patient, boundary violations, and financial transgressions.  Accordingly, it is a massive mistake to think you can handle your civil hearing alone or that you can play along with the investigation to make things go away. You are just digging yourself into a deeper hole and playing into the state’s hands when you attempt that sort of foolish strategy.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your professional license.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through the misconduct hearing process, explain the criminal implications of any allegations against you, and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and losing your career forever.

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger is prepared to advocate for your best interests and defend you. Call Attorney Sanger at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney experienced dealing with nursing licensing issues.