Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Explains Optometrist Licensing Discipline in Missouri

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Optometrists practicing in Missouri play a significant role in healthcare. At first blush, the average person might not realize the significance of having a competent, ethical, and honest optometrist diagnose and treat eye conditions. The failure of an optometrist to diagnose and properly treat conditions of the eye will alter a patient’s life and possible rob that person of one of his or her senses. Accordingly, rigorous licensing requirements that ensure technical competence but also protect the public from sharp practices and guard against taking advantage of vulnerable clients.

Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger — who is also admitted to the practice of law in Kansas — fully believes that every professional licensee facing discipline deserves the right to practice in his or her chosen profession and that a professional who makes a mistake should not be barred from practice. Every professional license should engage an attorney represent them as soon as the licensee learns about an investigation into his or her practice. However, not any attorney will suffice because professional disciplinary hearings are highly complex legal matters. Therefore, the professional licensee facing the threat of discipline should turn to a well-respected, experienced, and successful professional licensing attorney when contesting professional disciplinary proceedings.

Chapter 336 of the Revised Missouri Statutes governs the practice of optometry in the state. As such, Chapter 336 grants the Missouri State Board of Optometry (“the Board”) authority to establish and enforce licensing requirements to practice optometry in Missouri. Specifically, 336.110 describes in detail the grounds upon which the Board is justified in filing a complaint with the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission against a practicing optometrist or deny licensure to an optometrist who applied to practice in Missouri.

Optometrists may be disciplined for numerous transgressions. Of course, the simple fact that the Board filed a complaint does not equate to guilt, but the occasion triggers certain rights and obligations of the licensee. An optometrist practicing in Missouri could face discipline for using controlled substances or alcohol to any degree such that imbibing interferes with the optometrist’s ability to use sound medical discretion.  Also, any criminal offense to which the licensee pleads guilty, nolo contendre, or is convicted that pertains to any of the functions of an optometrist is also a ground for discipline.

In addition, committing fraud, impersonating a licensee, assisting someone in an effort to violate the licensing law, fraudulently obtaining something of value, and incompetence are additional reasons the Board may be justified when filing a complaint about discipline against the optometrist. Additional grounds for disciplinary action include adverse disciplinary action taken by another jurisdiction, violating the public trust, false of misleading advertising, violation of the drug laws and regulations of Missouri or the United States, and failing to take precautions to prevent the spread of contagious disease.

If the Board learns of a violation of 336.110, then it has the discretion to file legal action before the Administrative Hearing Commission. The Administrative Hearing Commission will conduct a hearing, and if the government has sustained the allegations, then the Board has the discretion, pursuant to 336.110(3), to mete out discipline.

The Board has several options at its disposal when punishing a license holder. The statute affords the Board wide latitude when announcing its disciplinary decision. Despite the latitude, the statute seems to favor to censure or  probation, that is, place restrictions on the optometrist’s freedom to practice for no more than five years. The statute grants the Board authority to place restrictions on the practitioner’s license as it deems fit. Additionally, the Board may suspend the optometrist’s license for up to three years. The Board may revoke the practitioner’s license as well.

Are You An Professional Licensee in Missouri Facing Discipline?

Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger will provide you with the experience, savvy, and track record of success you need to protect your livelihood. Call Attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation.

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Discusses Ophthalmic Discipline in Kansas

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The Kansas State Board of Examiners in Optometry (“State Board”) is the sole disciplinary authority of the ophthalmic profession in the state. As such, the State Board bears a tremendous burden to ensure that ophthalmologists in Kansas are competent, ethical, and scrupulous practitioners. The safety of the public demands that optometrists provide the highest level of care possible and the State Board strives to guarantee that no one will be a victim to an optometrist unwilling to live up to the professional standards the State Board established.

There are, however, at least two sides to every story. Experience dictates that the filing of a complaint against an optometrist for wrongdoing or unethical behavior is not the equivalent of a conclusive finding. Every professional in Kansas facing licensing discipline deserves to have the counsel of their choosing fight for their rights, to protect his or her livelihood, and to protect the optometrist’s way of life. Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger has the experience to represent you aggressively to deliver the best result for you and those closest to you.

The State Board derives its authority to discipline optometrists who have committed a violation of the professional licensing act. The act, found at Kansas Statutes 65-1517, affords the State Board discretion to impose discipline upon an optometrist when the State Board finds that the licensee’s conduct runs contrary to the standards elucidated in the 65-1517. The section does not set out the precise quantum of proof upon which the State Board must decide the case. Instead, the statute merely indicates that the “existence” of a listed “ground(s)” is sufficient to impose discipline.

The statute grants the State Board wide discretion when imposing discipline. The State Board may revoke, suspend, or limit the optometrist’s license. The State Board may also censure the licensee privately or publicly. None of the grounds for discipline require a mandatory penalty. Therefore, the State Board enjoys great flexibility when producing sentence and should consider the history of the licensee, and the severity of the infraction, among other factors, when deliberating upon punishment for the licensee.

Section 65-1517 lists 25 independent grounds, which, if proven, may serve as the basis for discipline. Committing fraud, malpractice, professional incompetence, felony convictions, violating drug statutes, violating orders issued by the State Board, violating the laws governing optometry in Kansas, not paying a renewal fee, not completing continuing educational requirements, practicing with a false name, or impersonation of another optometrist.

Other grounds include suspension or revocation of a license to practice optometry disciplined in another state, violating rules, regulations, or directives announced by the State Board, cheating to get a license, refusing to provide information to the State Board when requested, receiving discipline or adverse action from a peer review group, professional society, or agency, failing to keep liability insurance, fraudulent billing practices, and not providing a prescription for glasses.

The act also requires disciplinary action if an optometrist’s illness, infirmity, alcohol, or drug use inhibits his or her ability to practice optometry with reasonable skill and care. Section 65-1517(j) requires the licensee to undergo physical and mental examinations if requested by the State Board. This section indicates that every optometrist practicing in Kansas consents impliedly to the demands of the State Board under subsection (j).

Furthermore, 65-1517 allows the State Board to discipline an optometrist if the licensee settled or was found liability for committing malpractice. Additionally, failing to report an adverse ruling of malpractice is another ground for imposing discipline.

Protect Your License to Practice Optometry in Kansas

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger has the expertise, track record of success, and vast experience you need when facing a disciplinary hearing before the Kansas State Board of Examiners in Optometry. Schedule a consultation with Attorney Danielle Sanger by calling 785-979-4353 today.

Kansas and Missouri Medical Licensing Attorney Discusses DEA Role in Curbing Drug Misuse Among Medical Practitioners

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The Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, is an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice that investigates drug crimes, as well as endeavors to prevent drug crimes and safeguard the community from the dangers of drug abuse. The DEA’s Diversion Control Division is dedicated to identifying people who are in trouble and assisting drug misusers find the help they need to combat the deadly disease of addiction.

The DEA also performs another important function as overseers of medical professionals licensed to dispense prescription medications.  By virtue of their oversight capacity, the DEA has the jurisdiction to investigate any medical professional for misuse of his or her prescribing authority as well as investigate behavior the DEA called “diversion.” According to the DEA, “diversion” is the unlawful appropriation of narcotics from a medical professional. However, the DEA is not solely interested in pursuing criminal charges. The DEA offers medical practitioners and their colleagues’ advice on how to identify who might be caught in the web of addiction and how colleagues can render aid to doctors, physicians’ assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, in addition to all other medical professionals suffering from addiction.

Danielle Sanger, Esq. is a professional licensing attorney who exclusively practices administrative law in Kansas and Missouri. Attorney Sanger understands the challenges medical professionals face in today’s increasingly stressful workplace. Attorney Sanger knows that the demands of medical professionals’ time have never been greater. Furthermore, Attorney Sanger is well aware of how easy it is to slide down the slippery slope of addiction and wants to help you successfully enter and complete recovery so that you can return to your chosen profession.

Attorney Sanger can identify with professional licensees who run into difficulties with professional discipline based on experiences some of her close family members once endured. Accordingly, Attorney Sanger focuses her law practice strictly on making sure that all of her clients receive due process guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Identifying a colleague who may need help with a drug addiction can be difficult. Even the most intelligent, well-educated, and highly respected medical professionals can hide their problem for so long. Eventually, behavioral changes, work performance, and personal problems will emerge despite the addict’s best efforts to conceal his or her dark secret.

The DEA compiled an extensive list of behavioral changes that could signal the person is struggling with an addiction. These changes are not exclusive to drug misuse. Notwithstanding, any of these changes signify that the person is in distress because of substance abuse or some other reason. Therefore, action must be taken by fellow medical professionals to protect the safety of the public and the medical practitioner if any or a combination of these following behavioral changes occur:

  • Taking an abnormal number of sick days,
  • Poor attendance,
  • Unexplainable trips out of the work area and into the location where drugs are kept,
  • Poor productivity or a recent and precipitous decline in work performance,
  • Worsening handwriting and charting,
  • Confusion, uncharacteristic memory loss,
  • The abnormal drug “wastage,”
  • Over-prescribing medication,
  • Declining attitude,
  • Inability to maintain interpersonal relationships,
  • Inconsistent moods and mood swings,
  • Declining personal hygiene,
  • Arriving late for work, or

As a medical professional, you have an ethical and moral obligation to confront these issues and informing the individual in charge of your office, or hospital Human Resources department.

Medical Professionals Facing the Threat of Licensing Discipline Must Contact Attorney Sanger Immediately

Call Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation if you are a medical professional who could face professional discipline because of your addiction. Attorney Sanger will educate you about your rights and devise an effective defense strategy to protect you, your profession, your family, and your way of life.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Discusses Due Process Rights in Medical Professional’s DEA Registration

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Medical professionals authorized by Kansas, Missouri, or another of state in the Union, to dispense narcotics must further register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA. The DEA’s Diversion Control Division maintains registrant’s records, and according to the authority conferred to it by 21 United States Code (USC) Sections 823 and 824. Medical practitioners cannot prescribe medications unless their DEA registration is active. Therefore, maintaining an active registration with the DEA is vital to conducting a medical practice in Kansas or Missouri. In essence, therefore, the doctor is only as good as the medication he or she can prescribe.

Section 824 grants authority to the Attorney General, or his or her designees, to revoke DEA registrations of medical practitioners according to guidelines set forth in the statute. Furthermore, Article 21 of the Code of Federation Regulations explicate the authority an Attorney General’s designees can assert.

Under the statute, the DEA recognizes a medical practitioner as one who must be licensed under the state law to practice medicine and dispense medications. If the practitioner loses the authority to dispense drugs because of state action, then the medical practitioner’s registration to under the DEA is essentially automatically revoked.

The DEA will investigate to determine if the medical practitioner has current authority conferred by state law. The DEA ruled earlier in 2019 that it has the authority to revoke a doctor’s registration even though the state in which the doctor is admitted to practice revoked his authority to dispense medication by a summary procedure rather than after a full hearing.

The Attorney General reserved authority in itself to revoke a registration under Section 824(d) in an emergency situation. The Attorney General must find that the medical practitioner is an immediate danger to the safety or health of the public. The immediate threat of death, serious bodily harm, or abuse of any controlled substance. A suspension for an immediate danger can be reversed by the Attorney General or a court having jurisdiction over the case.

Under Section 824, the Attorney General has the obligation to give notice to the medical practitioner under suspicion of misconduct that a hearing will be held for the medical practitioner to show good cause why his or her registration should not be revoked or suspended.  The physician has the burden to present evidence to rebut the presumption that the DEA registration must be revoked.

The government must give actual notice to the doctor facing discipline by the DEA. Section 824 requires the Attorney General to include in the documents served upon the medical practitioner a statement of facts substantiating the Attorney General’s position that denial, revocation, or suspicion of the DEA registration is appropriate, along with a statement of applicable laws and regulations governing the hearing. The notice must also include a summons to appear before the Attorney General to attend a hearing on the merits of the Attorney General’s petition. The medical practitioner will be directed to appear before the Attorney General 30 days after receipt of the notice.

Section 824 grants the doctor the opportunity to submit a corrective action plan to the Attorney General before the hearing on the merits of the case. The Attorney General must review the corrective action plan and take it into consideration before rendering a decision on the case. The Attorney General can take appropriate action on the corrective action plan filed by the petitioner.

Medical Professionals Facing the Threat of Licensing Discipline Must Contact Attorney Sanger Immediately

Contact Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule an immediate consultation if you are a medical profession notified by the Drug Enforcement Administration that you are facing revocation of your registration.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Discusses the Benefit of Taking a Sabbatical

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Sabbaticals were once a perk of college professors who might take time to travel or to write. More companies are considering allowing their professionals to take sabbaticals, either paid or unpaid and have reported amazing results. It turns out that sabbaticals benefit the professional who gets extended time away from his or her employer or work environment and well as the organization itself. The organization has a chance to see how its succession plan will work after the more-senior person leaves the group by instilling initiative in less experienced or junior employees how to step up and make decisions. The people returning from sabbatical and those who filled in during the extended leave feel a sense of perspective and have renewed energy once the sabbatical is over. In short, sabbaticals are one method of handling mental health issues in the workplace.

The question that follows naturally is why do many professions not offer a sabbatical time when there are so many benefits to taking a sabbatical? Many professional licensees work in industries that customarily do not allow employees to take large chunks of time off. Convincing an employer to grant leave of one month or more, either with or without pay, and return to the same position is a tall task. The natural response from an employer to a request for sabbatical leave is immediate recoil; the topic is taboo and the idea controversial. On the other hand, an employee might have a hard time even asking for a sabbatical while employed an industry in which sabbaticals are not the norm. They rightly fear rejection of the idea out-of-hand but also the thought of being demoted or fired because they want to take such a long time off.

A sabbatical is entirely different than a vacation. Professional licensees take vacations as needed to get away from the demands of the job just for a break where you cram family time or housework into a week or two out of the office. Dedicated professional licensees might even continue to check emails and phone messages in anticipation of returning to the workplace after a short respite. In other words, you never put the job out of your head and forget about it for a while.

Those who take sabbaticals set out on their journey with an entirely different frame of mind than when simply heading on vacation.  The person taking a sabbatical is not merely taking time off to do other things. The person on sabbatical wants to immerse himself or herself in something not only as a distraction from ever-present stressors of daily life but out of a genuine interest in the subject matter. A true sabbatical is meant to do a “deep dive” into a hobby, to study, to write, to learn a new language, or pursue another passion project. Thus, the idea behind a true sabbatical, rather than a vacation, stems from a desire to renew one’s spirit, emotions, and mid, as well as refresh the body.

Professional licensees returning to work after a sabbatical return refreshed, anxiety-fee, renewed and rejuvenated. They are able to resume their work with vigor and a renewed sense of ambition because the sabbatical allowed them to clear their heads. Alternatively, a sabbatical could convince the professional that his or her chosen profession is the wrong one and that it is time to leave to do smoothing else. A sabbatical can provide a sense of clarity that vacation simply cannot.

Declining Mental Health can Lead to Licensing Discipline

Call Kansas and Missouri Professional Discipline Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation if you are a professional licensee facing discipline stemming from mental fatigue, anxiety, or other mental health problems. You can rely on Attorney Sanger’s knowledge, experience, and most importantly, compassion to protect you, your profession, your family, and your way of life.

Source:

Professional Discipline Defense Attorney in Kansas and Missouri Advises Medical Professionals to Avoid Burnout and Fatigue to Reduce Potential Licensing Discipline

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Medical care should revolve around the patient, and at one time, it did. Increased regulation, additional demands on time, mounting documentation, and other administrative obligations can distract medical professionals from performing their duties competently. Consequently, medical professionals have experienced burnout. Doctors must conquer increased demands for documentation, declining wages while workloads increase, and the quality of life, along with job satisfaction and fulfillment, decline readily.

Burnout, or the state of mental and physical exhaustion coupled with the belief that there is no end in sight, is not singular to the healing arts. Many professional licensees experience burnout because of demands on the professional’s time compounded by performing ancillary tasks associated with their profession. Most professionals will be stressed out or one time in their professional lives.

Few people ever recognize the bureaucratic demands of their chosen profession until they join the ranks. Once young professionals experience bureaucratic requirements, and burnout begins to creep into their minds, the professional starts to feel unappreciated, disillusioned, dispirited, and depressed. These feelings can lead to depression, quitting the profession, and thoughts of committing suicide. To be sure, about 400 doctors take their lives each year. Moreover, well over one-half of all medical professionals participating in a survey admitted that they experienced at least one known symptom of burnout within the previous year.

Malpractice lawsuits and complaints to medical licensing boards significantly increase the stress a medical practitioner experiences. The constant threat of being sued over a mistake requires doctors to increase the amount of documentation they must complete to protect themselves, and more specifically their malpractice insurers. Doctors also complain that patient care is faceless because medical practitioners are held hostage by insurance companies and for-profit medical companies who are exclusively concerned with revenues. Accordingly, medical licensees must devote more time to other matters besides patient care, which was the inspiration to enter the profession in the first place.

Experts say that burnout is the primary cause of medical mistakes. The mistakes doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, and other medical licensees come with a human cost. Patients of burned-out doctors can feel unsafe and lose trust in the practitioner. Patients who advocate for the standard of healthcare they deserve may need to report a physician who is making errors, falling behind, becoming aggravated, displaying a lack of empathy, or committing malpractice.

Hospitals and corporate providers pay lip service to the growing burnout problem. Some facilities try to tackle the problem by imploring their caretakers to forge on and be persistent even in the face of excruciating mental and emotional exhaustion. Other facilities have turned to alternative therapies like yoga to encourage their professionals to relax. The paradox is inescapable: medical facilities are content treating symptoms rather than the underlying cause of the problem. Medical schools and training programs have increased their attention to burnout in their curricula and during internships and residencies. The success of early burnout intervention has not been evaluated. Anecdotally, doctors have said that their time is better spent addressing patient needs or taking a full day away from the office instead of compulsory attendance at a program designed to reduce stress. Compelled attendance only serves to increase tension.

Burnout among medical practitioners cannot be eliminated or even reduced with one tactic. Given the declining number of physicians in practice and the anticipated need for healthcare workers in the future stakeholders must take a holistic approach to repair a broken system so that the healthcare providers can focus on complete care for their patients.

For Help With Your Medical Licensing Issues

Call Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation if you are a medical professional licensee facing discipline attributed to burnout. You can rely on Attorney Sanger’s vast experience to protect you, your profession, your family, and your way of life.

Source: Cited and I have a friend who is a physician in his second intern year at Ohio State University. He told me about compelled attendance at stress reduction conferences and said that all they do is increase stress.

Allegations of Misconduct have Wide-Ranging Consequences

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Physicians and other medical licensees who are the subject of misconduct complaints at a hospital may face licensing discipline based on the outcome of the complaint. Physicians must appreciate that their way of life depends on their commitment to acting appropriately in all circumstances, including when practicing medicine under the privileges at a hospital. Even one small and seemingly insignificant misstep could result in disciplinary action from the medical facility and at the licensing board. Therefore, physicians who are under suspicion or investigation for a violation of hospital by-laws must retain a professional licensing attorney.

Danielle Sanger, Esq. is a professional licensing attorney who practices administrative law in Kansas and Missouri. Attorney Sanger is well-versed in the nuances of the laws invoked during disciplinary hearings in both states through her vast experience representing physicians, nurses, and other medical licensees, in addition to representing licensees from a variety of other professions. Attorney Sanger does not dabble in this area of the law. Instead, she dedicated her entire law practice to representing professional licensees facing professional discipline.

Based on her family members’ travails with regulatory boards and boards of professional registration, Attorney Sanger understands all-too-well how people can get lost in the administrative process, which deprives them of their capacity to earn a living, care for their family, or have a career in the profession they selected. Consequently, Attorney Sanger embarked upon her career as a private attorney to help people fight through the administrative law process in Kansas and Missouri.

Hospitals have a legal obligation to prevent immediate harm to their employees. Typically, physicians are not employees of a hospital, with the notable exception of hospitalists.  Concomitant with the duty prevent immediate injury is the hospital’s duty to investigate claims of wrongdoing, such as sexual harassment for example, and then work diligently to prevent future harm to its employees upon learning of the alleged transgression.

The remedial actions taken by the hospital must be limited to remediate the harm. However, corrective actions taken by hospitals can conflict with a physician’s due process rights and rights conveyed under the hospital’s by-laws. A physician suspected of misconduct has a constitutional due process right in his or her medical license as well as the privilege to practice in a hospital before the doctor’s rights, and privileges can be lawfully terminated. Additionally, the federal civil rights act grants physicians a statutory right to relief in court if a hospital interferes with the physician’s rights provided that the hospital is a public medical facility. Also, the U.S. Constitution guarantees that physicians have rights to due process before a public hospital revokes the doctor’s privileges.

The due process rights enjoyed by physicians as license holders guarantees the physician the opportunity for a fair hearing on the allegations, a right to be heard, a right to confront the physician’s accusers and cross-examine them along with the right to present evidence in support of the physician’s case. The due process rights of a physician are not as extensive as a criminal defendant’s rights to a trial by jury, but there is substantial congruency between the two.

Relatedly, there is a conflict between the hospital’s duty to prevent harm when the hospital employs a summary suspension process and the doctor’s rights to be heard in opposition. A summary suspension could lead to the impression that the doctor is not fully competent as a medical professional and irreparably damage the doctor’s right to earn a living. Additionally, a suspension or revocation of hospital privileges will result in an investigation conducted by the Board of Registration of Medicine and which could trigger attempts at disciplinary action.

Contact Attorney Sanger Immediately if You are Threatened with Discipline

Call Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation if you are a physician threatened with losing your privileges to practice in a hospital due to allegations of misconduct to learn about your rights and how Attorney Sanger will fight to protect them.

Addiction Crisis Among Medical Professionals Leads to Licensing Discipline

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Stress, anguish, pain, dread, and being overwhelmed may describe how people sometimes feel when working in the medical profession. Of course, those feelings are not limited to the medical profession and are part of life from time to time. However, medical professionals must endure experiences that are unique to their profession, and few people know what it is like to bear the awesome responsibility for saving another person’s life or nursing them back to health. Medical professionals, and physicians, in particular, will endure adverse patient outcomes during the span of one’s career. When compounding adverse results with the strain of running a medical practice, worrying about billing, insurance issues, and a host of other issue attendant with the practice of medicine along with all of life’s unexpected twists and turns, medical professionals can turn to unproductive methods of handling the resulting stress, anxiety, and depression.

Medical professionals, just like the rest of us, experience fatigue and exhaustion, but the demands of their jobs are unrelenting. Physicians and nurses can turn to substances stronger than caffeine to help keep them awake and alert. Patient care cannot yield to the physician’s sleep schedule or whether the doctor herself is a little under the weather. A doctor’s or nurse’s duty of care owed to his or her patients cannot acquiesce to the way a caregiver feels on a given day.

If you are a medical professional suffering from the effects of drug or alcohol misuse, you could face professional discipline, which can jeopardize your career, your family life, and your future. The stress and anxiety could turn you deeper into dependence on addictive substances. You need an advocate, someone who is going help you get through this difficult time. Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger can you help keep your license and protect you and your family if you are facing professional discipline due to an addiction to drugs or alcohol. When you have Attorney Sanger by your side, you know you have an attorney who has devoted her practice to defending the rights of professional licensees, including physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals who mightily struggle with addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Why Do Medical Professionals Become Addicted?

Paradoxically, medical professionals become addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol with great regularity despite knowing that substance misuse is damaging to their health. Notwithstanding the health risks, medical personal turn to prescription drugs because of the ease of access to medication, especially in hospitals. Fortunately, medical professionals have the education and training to recognize when they need help. Addicted health care providers are often amenable to treatment once they acknowledge that they have a problem. Hopefully, with the right guidance, treatment, and commitment to sobriety, the health care professional can free herself or himself from the potent grasp of addiction.

Seeking Treatment before Facing Disciplinary Hearings Can Minimize Adverse Outcomes

Obtaining treatment for addiction and committing to sobriety before facing professional discipline could help ease the severity of professional punishment. Taking responsibility and decisive action demonstrates to Boards of Medicine and Registration that the medical professional comprehends the seriousness of the problem and evinces the appropriate amount of concern for healing themselves while showing that the medical professional can safely resume treating patients. Every case is different, naturally, however, taking the first steps to sobriety necessarily assists the medical professional personally and professionally.

Urgent help for you when you need it

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger is available to help you get your career back on track. Your professional is too valuable to allow the clutch of substance abuse to ruin your career and your personal life. Call Attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to learn more about your legal options if you are under investigation for or are facing discipline for substance abuse as a medical professional.

Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Says: Physicians Must Fight to Keep Disciplinary Actions Private

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Keeping disciplinary actions from public view can help maintain a physician’s practice even if the doctor is on probation. According to Consumer Reports, 66% of subjects polled across the United States, favor a policy in which a physician on probation for any rules infraction may not treat any patients until the doctor successfully completes probation.  Additionally, 82% of people surveyed believe that state licensing boards should enact rules obligating doctors who are on probation to notify their patients that the treating physician is on probation, for how long, and for what infraction or infractions the licensing authority disciplined the medical practitioner. Given the overwhelming public sentiment on the issue, physicians facing disciplinary action must fight to maintain as much privacy as permitted by law so they can continue to practice medicine while serving a probationary term.

Missouri and Kansas progressional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger understands the difficulties physicians encounter when facing professional discipline. A doctor who is under investigation for a violation of the professional standards must carefully weigh his or her options when contesting or negotiating a resolution so that he or she can obtain the best outcome possible. Attorney Sanger dedicated her law practice to representing professionals such as doctors, nurses, health care professionals, and other professional licensees. Consequently, Attorney Sanger possesses a thorough understanding of the nuances of administrative law in both Kansas and Missouri. A physician who now faces a disciplinary hearing can rely on her expertise to develop a winning legal strategy that protects your medical license so you can continue to earn a living for you and your family while you rectify the alleged problems that bring you before the medical licensing board.

Physicians are human and like the lot of humanity, run into trouble from time to time. Trouble might take the form of a complaint from an employee or patient regarding something very serious like sexual harassment, substance abuse, incorrectly prescribing medication, or criminal charges. The allegations could also be minor in nature as well. Notwithstanding the severity of the claims, a physician should take a complaint very seriously. Although a physician has many valuable rights in Kansas or Missouri disciplinary hearings before their respective boards of medicine, trying to negotiate without counsel or litigating the complaint without counsel could lead to enormous collateral consequences.

Kansas and Missouri medical licensing boards understand the balance that they must strike between public safety and opportunity for the physician to rehabilitate himself or herself. Public reprimands, probationary periods, suspension, and revocation of the doctor’s license to practice are harsh sanctions and are assessed by the licensing boards based on numerous factors including severity of the infraction, the length of time in practice, the severity of the injury if any, the outcome of a criminal prosecution, and the egregiousness of the doctor’s behavior.

When considering the continuum of possible sanctions, public reprimand and probation do not appear to be as harsh on their face as suspension and revocation; however, these sanctions can have unintended collateral consequences. Practicing with either lets the public know that you did something wrong. The specter of wrongdoing can linger over a physician’s practice and cause financial hardship, even if the sanction is a public reprimand. Practicing medicine during a term of probation could have worse effects. The physician could lose his or her partnership in a medical practice depending on the terms of probation or have to limit the time she or he spends practicing, thereby losing patients. Alternatively, having an experienced advocate fight for a private reprimand, convincing the board to dismiss the disciplinary action, or win exoneration after a hearing can help you stay in practice, keep your business afloat, and provide for your family.

Consult Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger as Soon as Possible

Attorney Danielle Sanger is available to consult with you about your disciplinary action proceeding. Call the Law Offices of Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4352 to schedule your initial consultation.  Our Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney is ready to help you now!

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Asks: Need a Counselor? There’s an App for that

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Reaping the benefits of talk therapy is now easier than ever before. All a prospective patient has to do is download a mobile application, or app for short, pay a fee and gain access to thousands of therapists across the globe. Health insurance may also help defray or even pay the bulk of the therapist’s fees subject to the transmittal of a small co-pay.

A relationship between an online therapist and a client comes with similar ethical obligations as a traditional face-to-face relationship might. However, the uniqueness of the online client-therapist interaction creates additional problems to which the therapist must give significant consideration and care. Failing to navigate these relatively unchartered waters carefully may result in facing disciplinary hearings for ethical violations. In short, online counseling presents a way for the therapist to reach clients who might otherwise not have the chance to engage in much-needed therapy; however, the latest innovation in counseling could trap the unwary in a difficult ethical dilemma.

Kansas and Missouri professional disciplinary defense attorney Danielle Sanger is dedicated to protecting you, your family, and your way of life from the clutches of licensing discipline. Licensing disciplinary actions are dissimilar to most legal controversies in that the decision to render disciplinary action is left to the discretion of a panel of board members or an administrative law judge. The laws and regulations governing the administrative law rules in Kansas and Missouri are equally complicated and confusing, even for highly educated and sophisticated people like therapists. Therefore, hiring an attorney who understands the administrative law procedure is insufficient. To successfully defend your professional license, you need an attorney who has a practice devoted to defending people’s professional licenses like Attorney Danielle Sanger.

In-person talk therapy sessions can strip the client to her or his core and expose the emotional and psychological stressors hampering the client’s wellbeing. Anonymity is not an option, and the client cannot hide from the probing questions a therapist asks to bring emotional baggage to the fore and help the client heal. By contrast, online therapy is not real in the sense that it is not face-to-face in the same room but through the medium of the internet. Online therapy distorts the picture that allows the patient to hide behind a veneer and gives the therapist a sense of distance which could minimize the significance of the client-therapist relationship.

Notwithstanding the artificial feel or appearance online therapy sessions might present, the legal implications of offering online therapy are very real. To protect themselves from allegations of unethical behavior, overreaching, and misconduct, counselors must use a carefully and thoroughly crafted informed consent document that thoroughly describes the nature of the relationship as well as the risks associated with online counseling and the potential cost of the sessions. Toward that end, therapists should explain to their clients:

  • the nature of the therapy services to be provided,
  • the potential benefits and risks associated with the particular treatment,
  • defining how treatment goals are reached,
  • cost of therapy, including fees the therapists receive, and
  • how to discuss or dispute the prices or quality of the services rendered.

Online therapy creates an artificial sense of bonding. Despite the physical distance, therapists must disclose to their online patients under what circumstances a therapist has to warn others about potential self-inflicted harm or the possibility of harming others.

Therapists must be greatly concerned with patient confidentiality and privacy. All therapists must protect their clients’ confidences at all costs. The duty to safeguard client confidences extends to online therapy as well. Therapists must be certain that their technology is up-to-date and protects their clients’ information from hackers and other threats that can undermine the sanctity of the therapist-client privilege.

Learn to Grow Your Business Online Ethically

Online therapy sessions present a wonderful new method of marketing a business while reaching out to people who need help. If you are a therapist who questions the ethical considerations of online therapy sessions or is facing professional discipline because of an allegation of unethical or unprofessional behavior during an online therapy session, call Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney today at 785-979-4353 today.