Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Ethical Violations in the Psychology Profession

/in /by

Psychologists are highly respected members of their communities. In turn, they are expected to live up to a very high ethical standard. I frequently advise psychologists about their professional obligations and the best ways to avoid allegations of impropriety. Because psychologists are entrusted with confidential information, money, and private physical access to patients, there are many opportunities for a disgruntled former client or colleague to make an allegation of wrongdoing. As a result, it is essential to avoid situations where these sort of accusations could arise.

If you are a psychologist in Kansas or Missouri facing an ethics investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Do not agree to speak with an investigator without an experienced attorney by your side. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone.

Attain Informed Consent

At the outset of your professional relationship with a new client, you must attain his or her “informed consent,” meaning you must provide sufficient information regarding the parameters of confidentiality, record keeping practices, your expertise and training, services you do and do not offer, expected duration of therapy, the patient’s right to end treatment, and fees and billing practices. Failing to provide this information in writing often leads to miscommunication and complaints later.

Understand Appropriate Relationship Boundaries

You have been taught the rules regarding relationship boundaries.  However, we are all human, and relationships tend to evolve in complex and surprising ways.  Never have a romantic or physical relationship with a patient.  Similarly, you should never see a family member, business associate, or close friend as a patient.  While it may seem harmless at the time when this line is crossed, I tend to see complaints come later, when the romantic or business relationship dissolves and feelings are raw.

Stay Within Your Area of Expertise

While it may be tempting to help someone out with a problem outside your area of expertise, it is not a wise decision to do so.  If you practice outside your area of expertise, you are exposing yourself to possible complaints that you lacked competency to handle your client’s problems.

Follow the rules Regarding Confidentiality

Follow the APA Ethics Code regarding confidentiality.  Whether you live in a major city or small town, disclosing a client’s confidential treatment information to anyone is a significant breach of ethics.  Even if this information is formally requested from you, your ethical duty is only to disclose as little information as possible.

Practice Ethical and Transparent Billing Practices

Accurately bill your client and insurers.  Keep careful, accurate records of bills and supply duplicate copies upon request.  Do not provide services that you do not bill for, and do not let patients pay for services that their insurance companies do not cover.

Know How and When to Terminate the Therapeutic Relationship

As you know, it is your ethical duty to terminate treatment if the client has ceased benefiting from your treatment. Similarly, if your client is no longer benefiting from treatment, you must also end your professional relationship. In these situations, you must clearly explain why your ongoing treatment is no longer appropriate. If another provider can help the patient, make a referral.  While these are sensitive conversations that you will have face-to-face with your client to avoid any feelings of rejection, you should document them thoroughly in your notes and a follow-up letter to the patient so that there is no miscommunication.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

As a psychologist, you have worked extremely hard to attain your license and the respect of your community.  An inquiry from a licensing board regarding your professional actions and decisions means that your livelihood is in jeopardy. If an investigation ensues, you will need help in gathering and organizing evidence, hiring expert witnesses, cross-examining witnesses, among other tasks.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to serving your 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 Pharmacists Under Investigation Need to Stay Off Social Media

/in /by

Are you a pharmacist that has either received either a notice of investigation from your employer, a notice of an investigation from your licensing board, or a notice of a pharmacy audit? Any one of these notices means that an allegation of misconduct may have been made against you and that your career is in jeopardy.  I have written many blog posts about my general advice to remain silent in this situation but wanted to focus an entire post on the need to entirely refrain from using social media while this review of your professional conduct occurs.

I wrote the following blog post to explain the social media steps you should take, and more importantly avoid if you receive a complaint from your state licensing board or employer. If you are a pharmacist 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.

Why Social Media is So Tricky for Pharmacists

Popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all enjoyable ways to communicate with friends and family and to tell the world what is going on in your life, but they also serve as a permanent record of conversations that may be misconstrued by an investigator or disciplinary board. As a pharmacist, you are expected to display a professional and trusted persona.  As a result, social media platforms are a horrible place to complain about an investigation into your conduct at work. No matter how upset or angry an investigation makes you refrain from commenting about it on social media. In fact, I always go a step further and recommend that my pharmacist clients delete their social media profiles altogether while any allegations against them are pending.

Social media mistakes tend to fall into two categories.  First, it is easy to make a post or statement that will be taken out of context later; complaints about an investigation or your employer are particularly easy to misconstrue.  Second, we all post wacky pictures from our vacations and good times with our friends.  But while you are under investigation, photos you post, even after-hours behavior, can be used to support their allegation that you are drinking too much, abusing drugs, or otherwise acting unprofessionally.

When you express yourself on social media, you are “speaking” to the world, including the investigator or board reviewing your conduct. As you have seen numerous times on television crime dramas, “you have the right to remain silent,” and I advise you to exercise that right vigorously.  Simply put, do not make any statement to anyone without an attorney by your side, including on social media.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now for the Advice You Need

You have worked too hard to attain your pharmacist’s license to lose it because you failed to attain professional legal advice. Staying off of social media while an investigation is pending is just one piece of advice that you need to observe; speak with a licensing defense attorney to arm yourself with the other essential pieces of advice you need.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney can mean the difference between getting back to helping your clients and losing your career forever.

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

 

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses the Most Common Reasons Physical Therapists Lose Their Licenses

/in /by

Physical therapists are particularly vulnerable to allegations of misconduct, as they have close contact with clients, have access to client’s confidential information, and are often working with clients one-on-one. Physical therapists often ask me if there are particular behaviors they should avoid or best practices they should adopt. Because I am so frequently asked about this topic, I have written the following blog post to outline the most high-risk behaviors.

If you are a physical therapist 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.

Top Threats to Physical Therapists’ Licenses

In my years defending physical therapists’ professional licenses, the following are the most common examples of conduct that results in allegations of unprofessional or unethical conduct:

Sexual Misconduct.  You should never have any sexual or romantic relationship with a patient, as this is one of the surest ways to lose your license. Similarly, you should not treat someone with whom you have previously had a sexual or romantic relationship. While either of these scenarios may not seem problematic when they are occurring, once the relationship ends and one party is spurned, allegations quickly arise.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse. If your drug or alcohol use is impairing your ability to do work with your clients, you are extremely likely to face some discipline. Even if you are not impaired at work, if your drug or alcohol use is close to your work hours, you are likely to be perceived as unprofessional—don’t take the risk.  Finally, the use of illegal drugs or using prescription drugs without a prescription, even if the use is unrelated to your employment, is likely to jeopardize your ability to work in any medical setting.

Fraud and Misrepresentation. Never promise or perform treatments that you are untrained or unlicensed to perform. Never bill for a procedure you did not perform or for unnecessary treatment. Not only is this sort of behavior dishonest and wrong, but it is also very likely to result in being caught, as insurance companies have advanced methods of noticing and proving fraud.

Patient Abuse. It does not need much explanation, never touch your client without his or her consent. Never touch your client sexually or in a manner that could be perceived as sexual in nature.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your physical therapy license. Allegations based on miscommunications, inter-office conflict, and vengeful patients can cost you that license, even if they are not true. Physical therapists often come to my office for a consultation after they have received a notice of investigation from either their employer or licensing board.  Sometimes they are still in a good position, and there is a lot I can do to either minimize the damage or have it dismissed altogether.  However, there are other times when there is very little I can do because the medical professional involved has tried to “go it alone” or tried “to be helpful,” thinking that these may be successful strategies. They aren’t. Contact an experienced licensing attorney now to protect your interests.

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 professional licensing issues.

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains What Nurses Should Do if They Receive a Notice of Investigation

/in /by

Nurses often come to my office for a consultation after they have received a notice of investigation from either their employer, a medical center, or the state licensing board. They are worried that allegations against them will result in a loss of their nursing license.  In some cases, these nurses have already made a full statement to a member of the human resources staff investigating the allegations or to an investigator from the state nursing board. Unfortunately, in these situations, the damage to their license is often already done. Investigators are trained to be friendly and disarming, so it is natural to think speaking with them may help a nurse’s case—it won’t.

But what should you do if you are a nurse contacted by an investigator regarding allegations of misconduct? I wrote the following blog post to explain the steps you should take, and more importantly avoid if you receive a complaint from your state licensing board or employer. If you are a nurse 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.

Don’t Do the Investigator’s Work

The stakes are high.  The investigator looking into an allegation against you may have little or no evidence, only an accusation. Your statement may be the only evidence to support a claim, and it is easy to misconstrue your comments made under pressure in a manner that makes you look guilty. To defend yourself, you may accidentally disclose some other misconduct.  For example, I have seen nurses accused of abusing opioids. In a misguided attempt to defend themselves, they denied using opioids but conceded that they do use marijuana after work to relax.  While they may have been right to deny the opioid use, they are now under investigation for using other illegal drugs.

Remain Silent

Always remain silent until you have spoken to an attorney. As you have seen numerous times on crime dramas, “you have the right to remain silent,” and you should exercise that right.  Simply put, do not make any statement to anyone without an attorney by your side. It is a massive mistake to think you can handle an investigative meeting 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 investigating agency’s hands when you attempt that sort of foolish strategy.

Do Not Ignore the Allegations Against You

While you should not speak with investigators or give any statement, you also should not ignore the allegations against you. Failing to respond to any complaints against you will only bolster the argument that you are not performing your work professionally.

Do Not Speak About the Matter with Friends, Family, and Coworkers

Only speak to your attorney about the claims against you. Your statements to your attorney fall within the attorney-client privilege and do not have to be disclosed. Anyone else can be questioned and must disclose your comments.  Your coworkers are likely to be asked about your conduct and statements, so especially avoid making statements to them about anything related to your case.

Nurse Under Investigation? Contact a Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

As a nurse, you have worked too hard to attain your nursing license to lose it because you spoke too freely to an investigator. Contacting an experienced professional license defense attorney to help you through the investigative process 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 professional licensing issues.

 

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains How Legalized Marijuana Affects Medical Professional’s Licenses

/in /by

On November 6, 2018, Missouri legalized medical marijuana. Since then, medical professionals have contacted me to ask what the effect this legal change has on their licenses and whether they are allowed to use medical marijuana.  As of right now, the answers to those questions remain murky, but I can provide some general advice to help guide medical professionals avoid obvious pitfalls. For more specific questions, professionals should contact me directly.

If you are a medical professional in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation into your conduct, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Medical marijuana is an emerging legal field, and you need the help of an experienced attorney to guide you through any inquiries into its use. Do not agree to speak with an investigator without an experienced attorney by your side. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone.

Medical Marijuana Issues

Society holds medical professionals to a higher standard than those in other professions. This is due to several factors, including the trust the public places in the medical professional, the effect of federal drug laws, and the risk to the public involved in medical professionals’ work. Accordingly, just because your friend who is a banker, engineer, or attorney is now using medical marijuana does not mean that you will also be able to use it too.  Having a medical marijuana card is neither a “get out of jail free card” from your employer nor a license to be intoxicated, issues I will describe in depth below. While medical marijuana is a new issue here in Missouri, many of the problems it poses are analogous to those already in place for alcohol and other intoxicants.

Employer Rules May Be Stricter than State Law

While it may be legal in Missouri to use medical marijuana, that does not mean that your employer has to approve of its use. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency regulates hospitals and other medical centers, and marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Accordingly, marijuana use in a federally regulated work environment likely jeopardizes the medical center’s license to prescribe and dispense medicine. As a result, your employer may prohibit medical marijuana use. Accordingly, just having a medical marijuana card, even if you do not subsequently use marijuana, may jeopardize your employment as a medical professional.

Use May Still Violate Professional Standards

As I said above, alcohol has been legal for a very long time, but coming to work under the influence of alcohol or even with alcohol in your system may violate the standards of your profession.  The same sort of tension exists now that marijuana is legal for medical purposes in Missouri.  If you make a mistake at work, even one seemingly unrelated to your use of medical marijuana, you may be accused of being under the influence. Similarly, if you come to work smelling of marijuana you may be accused of a lack of professionalism; while it may be legal to use medical marijuana, its use may result in allegations that you are violating other professional standards. Again, this is similar to alcohol. Alcohol is legal, but if you come to work smelling of it, you should expect a professional licensure complaint.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your professional license to lose it because you failed to understand issues surrounding your medical marijuana use adequately.  An inquiry from a licensing board or employer regarding your medical marijuana use means that your livelihood as a medical professional is in jeopardy. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney immediately to help you through this process 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 licensing issues.

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains the Difference Between Civil and Criminal Licensure Matters for Nurses

/in /by

Nurses often come to my office for a consultation, and one of the first questions they ask is “is this a criminal or civil?” Sometimes they have documents with them including a criminal complaint, a notice of a claim from a nursing board, and investigation documents from their employer.  None of the papers makes it clear whether the conduct in question will result in the loss of a job, jail time, loss of a nursing license, or all of the above. I don’t blame those nurses for being confused, as depending on the conduct in question, the conduct alleged could result in civil, criminal, or employer-based hearings. I wrote 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 Nurses’ Civil and Criminal Matters

Criminal and civil matters may seem similar—they’re both complex legal processes—but they have several significant differences, including the burden of proof involved, the possible penalties, and the type of hearing involved.

Criminal matters involve having your liberty taken by the state—they result in the accused nurse going to jail if he or she is convicted.  A district attorney files a criminal allegation in court using a “complaint,” and a nurse usually learns of the charges by being handed the complaint by a police officer or by being arrested. Because a loss of liberty, incarceration, is a severe deprivation, substantial “due process”—a trial by jury—is required before you can be convicted and put in jail.  Due process means an opportunity to know what the accusations are against you, a chance 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. 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. For nurses, these claims typically involve an assault on a patient, illegal use or possession of narcotics, and sexual misconduct involving a patient.

If you are served a complaint against you by police or are arrested, you are involved in a criminal matter.

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 for state governments.  As a result, the state cannot take your professional license or your interest in your reputation without “due process.” Due process in a civil matter may involve a trial, but not necessarily with a jury. A civil matter may result in having some property—like your license—taken or suspended or having a fine imposed.

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 Nurses’ 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 nurse who is giving his relatives opioids for their pain without a prescription. If the state nursing board is alerted to this practice, the nurse 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 nursing 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 license and prescription is also a crime.

If the nurse in the above example admits in his civil hearing before the nursing 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 nurse’s licensing issue can merely hand the transcript of his admission to an Assistant District Attorney who can then charge the nurse 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 and is often thought of as 99%. But if the nurse admitted to distributing the opioids, that admission often meets either standard. The same is true if the nurse makes admissions to his or her employer—those statements can be used again or “recycled” by the state’s nursing board or the prosecutor in a criminal case. Simply put, do not make any statement to anyone without an attorney by your side. 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 nursing 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.

 

 

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Describes Common Real Estate Broker Complaints

/in /by

Complaints against real estate professionals—agents and brokers—are unfortunately quite common in both Kansas and Missouri. That is easy to understand, as commercial and residential real estate transactions involve tremendous emotion and contain so many complex elements. We also should not lose sight of the fact that, like all professionals, real estate professionals are human beings and that can make mistakes. If something goes wrong during a deal, the realtor frequently gets the blame. I wrote the following blog post to explain the top behaviors for professionals to avoid in the real estate field. I attached both states’ discipline rules for your further review.

If you are a real estate 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.

Misrepresentation

If a real estate profession incorrectly represents any material facts—a fact that if known, might have caused a buyer or seller to make a different decision with regards to remaining in a contract, or to the price paid or received—during a transaction, they are at risk of being accused of misrepresentation. Misrepresentation also occurs when a real estate professional omits or fails to disclose a material fact.

Failure to Supervise

Failure to supervise can occur in two different manners. The first type happens when a real estate professional fails to monitor a subordinate’s work. The second type occurs when a real estate office’s broker fails to supervise the office’s license-required transactions adequately.

Unlicensed Activity

As any licensed real estate professional knows, certain aspects of assisting with the purchase and sale of real estate can only be performed by someone with an appropriate real estate license. If a real estate professional is found to have allowed a non-licensed individual to perform work requiring a license, he or she may be subject to discipline.

Violating Trust Funds

Trust fund violations can occur, first, when a real estate professional either comingles client money with his or her funds or, second, when the professional fails to document financial transactions adequately. In commingling, a real estate professional obviously violates professional ethics when he or she takes client funds; however, it is worth noting that it is an ethical problem to simply comingle the funds, even if none are taken.

Criminal Conviction

A criminal conviction, even one unrelated to the practice of real estate, can cause serious licensure issues for a real estate professional.  Any conviction that calls the real estate professional’s ability to be entrusted with substantial amounts of money can mean trouble for his or her license.  Drug convictions, theft and embezzlement convictions, and even DUI can signal danger for a real estate license.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your career as a real estate professional. Allegations based on miscommunications, upset buyers and sellers, and competing agents can cost you your livelihood, even if they are not true. You should know the parameters of the profession’s ethical rules but should contact a licensing attorney if you are accused of violating them. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through the complaint process can mean the difference between getting back to helping your patients and losing your career.

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 professional licensing issues.

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains How a Physician’s Prescription Writing Volume Can Trigger an Investigation

/in /by

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, the nation’s opioid epidemic is causing an upsurge in investigations into physicians’ prescription practices. State medical boards are on the lookout for any behavior that might signal that a physician is running a “pill mill,” or a place that too easily and too often prescribes powerful drugs. I describe a cautionary tale regarding pill mills below.

If you are a physician and have received a certified letter from your state licensing board indicating that they are opening an investigation into your prescription writing practices, be prepared for a harrowing experience. Most physicians I have represented go through several stages of emotion when they learn that they are being investigated—terror, embarrassment, anger, and fear are all common. But I have helped hundreds of similarly situated physicians through this process and can assure you that many of these investigations, while stressful, have positive outcomes.

If you are a physician in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation. Do not agree to speak with an investigator without an experienced attorney by your side. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone.

Prescriptions Give Rise to Investigations—A Cautionary Tale

I frequently represent physicians accused of over-prescribing drugs such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet, and Fentanyl.  While it is normal for many Kansas and Missouri physicians to write prescriptions daily, given the opioid epidemic, prescriptions of these drugs and others like them are likely to trigger regulatory scrutiny. That scrutiny can easily transition into licensure issues.  I recently came across information regarding physician whose license was suspended. I won’t use his name because it has not been made public yet but can tell you a bit about his case.

The first trigger for the administrative investigation of this doctor’s behavior was that he wrote thousands of opioid prescriptions in a single year’s time. That may not seem outlandish if he was an orthopedic surgeon or ran a pain clinic and was regularly dealing with people dealing with extreme pain following surgery, but he was a psychiatrist.

The second trigger for administrative investigation was that the prescriptions written by this doctor were primarily filled in a city an hour from the doctor’s practice. This means that those wanting opioids may have been seeking him out, even though there were options for psychiatric care similar to what he offered in their city.

Third, there were irregularities in the psychiatrist’s prescription practices.  For example, many of the prescriptions were written while his clinic was closed and while he was not present in his clinic.  Obviously, that can mean that someone other than this doctor was forging his signature on prescriptions. Regardless, it indicates that there may have been a loss of control over the prescription writing process.

As I indicated above, the psychiatrist’s medical license is suspended, and his practice is closed. There may be reasonable explanations for why the triggers I listed above were present, but this sort of prescription behavior suggests that the psychiatrist may have been operating a pill mill. Situations like this one are not unusual and can often be rectified when counsel presents a vigorous, appropriate defense.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your medical license to lose it because you were unprepared to respond to an inquiry from the state medical board.  An inquiry from a licensing board regarding your prescription writing means that your livelihood is in jeopardy. You will need help gathering and organizing evidence, hiring expert witnesses, cross-examining witnesses, among other tasks.  Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process 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 licensing issues.

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Discusses Prescription Drugs’ Effects on Medical Licensing

/in /by

There is an opioid crisis in the United States, and in its aftermath, there has been increased scrutiny of physicians’ patterns of prescribing these powerful drugs. That scrutiny precipitated an increase in licensing investigations regarding prescription patterns and opioid use by physicians themselves.

If you are a physician contacted by an investigator, do not make the mistake of trying to handle your response to the investigation alone. I have seen physicians’ lives and careers devastated because they tried to be helpful with investigators, in the wrongheaded belief that that generosity would buy them the investigator’s good favor. It won’t. Physicians under investigation often erroneously believed that “playing ball” or helping the investigators helps their case, but this positive impulse consistently results in negative consequences. Don’t fool around, get the help you need from an attorney that specializes in licensing issues. If you are a physician in Kansas or Missouri facing an investigation, call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a free consultation.

How Prescription Drugs Can Affect Your Medical License

There is no question that being a physician can be incredibly stressful. In addition to staying up to date on current medical procedures and regulations regarding patient care, being a physician can pose personal challenges as well. Time away from home, massive workloads, relationship issues, and medical school debt can make work-life-balance challenging to achieve. Every day, physician prescribe medication to help alleviate their patients’ anxiety and pain. As physicians’ own stresses mount, the temptation to self-prescribe can be powerful.  Unfortunately, some physicians succumb to this pressure and self-prescribe powerful opioids and other. While physicians understand these drugs’ powerful effects better than anyone, self-awareness diminishes as drug use increases.  Drug dependence ensues.

In my practice, I most commonly see physicians who have developed an addiction to Vicodin, OxyContin, and Valium. I also see the frequent misuse of amphetamines, depressants or painkillers, such as Darvocet, Percocet or Demerol. While these brand names vary, all opioids are highly addictive and are associated with controlled substance addictions in physicians.

Allegations that give rise to licensing issues can take several forms. First, I frequently see physicians that are legally attaining the drugs but have become addicted to them. This addiction leads to sloppiness and mistakes in the medical setting. Even if the doctor is not making mistakes, if colleagues and coworkers note that he or she is coming to work under the influence of prescription drugs, they often file a complaint. Second, I also see physicians that have stopped attaining these drugs legally and have transitioned to either self-prescribing them or to attaining them illegally. Obviously, this is a serious issue that may lead to criminal charges in addition to licensing issues.

If any of the above descriptions describe your scenario, you need legal help now to thwart efforts to suspend or revoke your medical license. I have helped physicians in Kansas and Missouri in your situation and can help you too.

Contact an Experienced Kansas and Missouri Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your medical license.  If you are a physician under investigation or have developed an addiction to opioids, pain pills, or any other drug, do not agree to any suspension of any kind or speak to an investigator without an attorney by your side to defend you and to negotiate the best possible outcome. Your career, reputation, and livelihood are at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process 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 prepared to guide you through your licensing issues.

 

 

Kansas and Missouri Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger Explains How Charting Errors Can Lead to Discipline

/in /by

One of the most time consuming and tedious aspects of the nursing profession is charting. That said, it is also one of the most vital tasks, as it is the primary line of communication between you and the rest of the medical professionals on your team. If you are a veteran nurse or work in a rural or small clinic, you may be acquainted with hand-charting your patients’ health information. On the other hand, if you work in a modern medical facility, you may use an entirely electronic charting program. Regardless of the charting system you use, charting errors and omissions can cost you your job and your nursing license

Before my work representing medical professionals in licensing cases I advised the boards that discipline them. As a result, I have a unique insight into how to avoid discipline altogether or to minimize it when avoidance is impossible. I frequently represent nurses accused of charting errors and often achieve positive results on their behalf. If you are a nurse 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.

Charting Mistakes and Fraud

I frequently see nurses accused of charting mistakes that fall into two categories. The first category is somewhat minor mistakes that taken together demonstrate a pattern of sloppiness. The second is serious, singular errors that result in harm to patients and other sentinel events. I am categorizing both of these types of allegations as “mistakes” because they are the unintentional results of overwork, poor charting systems, or other medical professionals’ errors.

The following is a list of common chart mistakes that I see: food allergies, medication reactions, changes in patient conditions, treatment actions taken, physicians’ requests to discontinue the use of a medication, adverse effect of a medication, known preexisting conditions. I also frequently see mistakes such as inadvertently writing one patient’s chart notes on another patient’s chart. Finally, I often see mathematical errors, such as writing “2 milligrams” when in fact the patient received “.2 milligrams” of a drug.

Less frequently, my clients are accused of fraudulent charting, which is the intentional misrepresentation of patients’ medical information. The reasons alleged for fraudulent charting vary, but often involve an overworked nurse trying to “catch up” on charting that he or she did not do but should have. Rather than come clean about the omission, the nurse fabricates information for a patient’s chart to cover his or her tracks.

Often, nurses’ inadvertent mistakes are misconstrued as a pattern of sloppiness or intentional fraud when, in fact, they are simple human error.  An attorney can help you gather evidence and explain the situation in a manner that makes that critical distinction clear. A single mistake or mischaracterization should not define your nursing career.

Contact an Experienced Kansas Licensing Attorney Now

You have worked too hard to attain your nursing license.  If you receive a notice of investigation, my experience is that “playing along” and being helpful will only hurt you in the end.  Do not speak to any investigators or agree to any type of suspension without an attorney to protect your interests. Your livelihood is at risk, and the challenge facing you is one you cannot navigate alone. Contacting an experienced licensing attorney to help you through this process and can mean the difference between getting back to helping your 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 prepared to guide you through your licensing issues.