IMPAIRMENT PROSECUTIONS – SAFE TO PRACTICE- FULL SUSTAINED REMISSION

Alcohol abuse, prescription pain medicine abuse, sleeping pill abuse, Adderall and ADHD medication abuse. Medical providers suffer from these disorders. However, if you go to work every day and professionally perform your care giving responsibilities should you voluntarily admit an impairment and go into the voluntary recovery program? NO
I tell my clients that unless until you are unable to safely perform your profession, as a medical professional you should never admit an impairment and/or an inability to practice safely. Admitting these fundamental facts could, in the long run, substantially impact your career.
Pennsylvania’s appellate courts are pushing back against the health related boards forcing and pushing practitioners in the PHMP drug and alcohol mandatory monitoring program. For a long time Pennsylvania’s health related boards scare professionals into admitting an impairment an inability to safely practice their profession to save their license. For many professionals, the PHMP, PHP, PNAP SARPH program was not legally or medically necessary and its restrictions too great.
The Courts are remind the boards and the experts they hire that if the license professional practices safely and there is no evidence of patient impact or safety issues, the Commonwealth cannot meet its burden of proof in these impairment cases.
In my recent case, my client plead guilty to two separate DUI offenses. One DUI was for drugs and one DUI was for alcohol. Both abuses stemmed from a medical injury and a psychiatric condition. In criminal court, the professional admitted his need for inpatient treatment. He was sentenced to county drug court, with 45 weekends (90 days) in custody. He was paroled to a drug treatment court, county certified halfway house in which he lived for two years.
The Petition for a Mental and Physical was filed while he was serving his weekend sentences. The Board expert’s report stated the obvious, he was impaired and needed monitoring. My client had nothing to lose. The Board would not offer his credit for time clean and on drug court. So, we fought the case.
Procedurally, we rejected a settlement agreement and waited for formal disciplinary action. That was the settlement offer — enrollment in the DMU. We waited for a hearing to be scheduled. My client remained clean, compliant with treatment conourt conditions, and was a model treatment court advocate. He was employed for the half-way house.
At the hearing, we presented proof of 36 months of negative drug tests and excellent employment references. Significantly, the professional was a nursing burn specialist. He remained employed throughout the entire course of the criminal case defenses, while serving his weekend criminal jail sentence, and living in a halfway house. He was given work release as well. As with every medical professional that fights the impairment prosecution, he remained employed while preparing for the Mental and Physical Evaluation, waiting for disciplinary action to be filed, a hearing scheduled, and the recent decision.
This is the employment history I introduced into the hearing record. The Hearing Examiner thought it was exceptional that throughout my client’s pending criminal cases his employer wanted and allowed him to keep working. The job references were stellar. The Board expert had to agree.
The decision recited these key factors that the Nursing Board’s expert conceded on the witness stand. The expert could not testify that my nurse client was unsafe to practice his profession. The expert also conceded 36 months of negative drug screens revealed the alcohol and drug use disorders were in full sustained remission.
The hearing examiner concluded the Commonwealth did not meet its burden of proof. The Commonwealth could not establish an ongoing, continuing alcohol, drugs, or medical condition that impaired my nurse clients ability to practice his profession. As well, The hearing officer credited my nurse’s employment references, annual job evaluations, and employer testimony come to conclude that he was, in fact, safe to practice.
Absent these two crucial elements in the Commonwealth’s case in chief, my nurse client is not required to go into the PHMP, PNAP monitoring program. This case is a perfect example of why medical professionals should never admit an impairment or inability to practice their profession. The time delay between criminal charges, mental and physical evaluations, and a formal hearing allows the medical professional to organize their life, prepare their defense, and successfully fight their case.
Call me to discuss.

Medical Licensing Board Impairment Prosecutions — The Proper Burden of Proof

I defend hard medical professional impairment prosecutions.  In every Pennsylvania impairment prosecution the licensing board prosecutor must prove that the licensee is unable to safely practice their profession due to a physiological or physiological dependence on alcohol or drugs. The statute governing these types of cases is 63 P. S. §224(a). This is a very high burden.  I recently won the case of Pennsylvania Nursing Board v. Thim on this exact issue.

In this case, the Board prosecutor did not meet their burden of proof.  The Commonwealth’s expert, Pogos Voskania, did not, and could not, diagnose Thim as suffering  from ongoing physiological or psychological dependence on drugs or alcohol. Voskanian tried to connect a bunch of disconnected alcohol use facts into an expert opinion of impairment.  However, on cross examination Voskanian conceded that Thim was an excellent nurse.  He could not diagnosis her with any type of medical diagnosis.

Voskanian did not identify other criteria upon which he based his diagnosis that Thim suffered from an alcohol use disorder.   Voskanian acknowledged that psychological dependence on alcohol is not a disorder identified in the DSM-V. More importantly, Voskanian conceded Thim was competent to practice nursing on the date he testified. Voskania considered it his duty to recommend monitoring for those individuals who evidenced a problem with drinking, “even if they didn’t kill anybody yet” . Although Thim “may be fine,” monitoring was required because of the risk “that an event can take place.”  Dr. Voskanian considered the future risks of Licensee’s behavior, her long history of alcohol use, and her minimization of that use, and came to the conclusion that, based on his professional judgment, monitoring was required. 

The appellate court ruled Voskanian’s opinion testimony was not supported by the factual record.  Absent a medical diagnosis, the Board’s decision stating there was a medical condition was not based upon the factual record. The Hearing Examiner merely accepted Dr. Voskanian’s opinion that Licensee suffered from an alcohol use disorder. For its part, the Board adopted the Hearing Examiner’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, and its Final Adjudication and Order provides no more illumination on this subject than does the Hearing Examiner’s proposed resolution.

My client had some alcohol use issues. However, the appellate court found, Voskanian improperly magnified her alcohol use history to suggest a psychological or physiological dependence on alcohol. Cross-examination of Voskanian led him to concede Thim was safe to practice her profession, was an excellent nurse, and her alcohol issues never boiled over into her professional life.

The appellate court also looked to Thim’s references from managers and supervisors who testified at a hearing about her excellent professional capabilities and reputation.   In light of overwhelming evidence that Voskanian’s testimony was a fabrication, the court ruled

“absence of unequivocal testimony that licensee has a psychological dependence on alcohol, the Board’s finding to the contrary is, at best, baffling.  As the department failed to demonstrate Play since he has a psychological or physiological dependence on alcohol, the boards determination that she is not safe to practice nursing simply can not stand.”

Please call me to discuss your Mental and Physical Evaluation, PNAP Letter of Concern, and Order to Show Cause trying to force you into the DMU and the PHMP.

Pennsylvania Attorneys and their Disciplinary Process

My licensure defense practice includes representing attorneys facing disciplinary process in Pennsylvania. Attorneys licensed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court – whether practicing in Pennsylvania or not – are subject to discipline the same as other Pennsylvania licensees. Criminal conduct and egregious unethical conduct expose attorneys to prosecution for violating the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Attorney discipline in Pennsylvania’s attorney regulatory system is more complex that other licensees. The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court in the Supreme Court in which disciplinary actions are filed. The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct govern the practice of law in the Commonwealth. These Rules set forth the minimum ethical standards for the practice of law and constitute a set of Rules that all attorneys must follow. These Rules were originally promulgated by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on April 1, 1988.

The Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement is the administrative process through which Supreme Court disciplinary actions are filed, hearings, held and appeals prosecuted. These Rules establish the attorney disciplinary system in Pennsylvania and set forth a broad set of procedural Rules governing attorney discipline. These rules were originally adopted by the Supreme Court in November 1972.

Disciplinary Board Rules and Procedures supplement and implement the Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement, and govern proceedings before the Disciplinary Board. These Rules are promulgated by the Disciplinary Board. This is the main difference between attorney disciplinary matters and other licensed professionals. Where the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) handles all other licensee discipline, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court supervises and disciplines attorneys.

Almost all other aspects of attorney disciplinary matters are similar to that of other licensees. The supreme court issues orders of prosecution to which attorneys must respond to the Prothonotary with all official filings. Disciplinary board council must be copied on all pleadings filed with the court.

Criminal convictions, not arrests, trigger Supreme court investigations and disciplinary action. Routinely Board prosecutors emergently file Orders to Show Cause to suspend attorneys license to practice law. There are much shorter time periods for attorneys to respond to disciplinary filings.

Orders to show cause why in attorney’s license should not be suspended for a criminal conviction in either of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, federal court, or any other jurisdiction must be immediately addressed. Lack of extra jurisdiction disciplinary prosecutions will not forestall the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from commencing it’s own independent disciplinary action.

Learning about and cooperating with prosecutors from the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board is important. Typically these attorneys are former prosecutors and, as attorneys themselves, seek to protect the profession from attorneys who engage in unethical and illegal conduct.
Theft of client funds and improper use of attorney trust account money will always trigger emergent prosecutions. Impairment prosecutions against attorneys caught using drugs, driving under the influence, or even showing up in court impaired are real, frequent, and as rampant as other professionals. Attorneys also suffer from mental health issues, diagnosed or not, that may begin to greatly affect their practice, bleed over into their practice of law. Untreated mental health issues, illnesses, drug abuse, or alcoholism always translate into client complaints.

If you are an attorney in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania please call me to discuss your potential or pending attorney disciplinary action.

Getting out of the PHMP

How do you get out of Pennsylvania’s Professional Health Monitoring Program (“PHMP”). The PHMP administers both the Voluntary Recovery Program “VRP” and the Disciplinary Monitoring Program (“DMU”)? As a licensed professional voluntarily enrolled in the PHMP – VRP – or forced into the DMU, you agreed to PHMP terms to keep working. You have been compliant for over three years. Now you think the program time is up!

But what you think is “compliant” may not be what your PHMP case worker thinks is compliant. Compliance does mean no positive drug tests and attendance and proper participation in all medical evaluations. Compliance includes AA or NA weekly meeting, daily telephone call-in, and/or random drug testing for at least three-years. Also, it is mandatory to provide three years or more of employer quarterly work evaluations.

Compliance also means alcohol and drug free for: 1) the first 3-6 months before the licensing board formally enters the Consent Agreement. This is the time period after signing the contract and filing out the personal data sheet when you accepted VRP DMU terms. Case workers do not tell you that it will take 3-6 months for a board to approve the contract. Also, they do not tell you to stop the drug testing after three years in the PHMP. They do not tell you when the three years clock starts to run.

There is one more requirement that is the most important part of compliance; paying all associated costs of the program. Many professionals ignore or forget to pay these expenses. Unless paid, the PHMP term will not end.

Recently I have fielded several calls from PHMP participants who have satisfied all of the above compliance requirements but did not finish paying 100% of the PHMP program costs. Each thought they were “done the program”. Licensees even receive eligibility letters from their PHMP case worker suggesting that they are poised to be satisfactorily dismissed in thirty days from the PHMP.

That thirty day period ran out with no case worker activity. Then, a positive alcohol test is claimed. Case workers then argued the licensee violated the program and requested a 12-18 month extension. These licensees were super angry.

Because a licensee did not pay the monetary expense, PHMP case workers do not file the termination petition with the board administrator. It is only this form, and only filed by the PHMP case worker, that will allow a board to terminate the licensee from the PHMP and reinstate the license to non-probationary status. Case workers continue to expect drug testing and abstinence. Licensees must remain compliant until the board discharges them from the program. This includes drug testing phone calls, testing, travel requirements, medical records, and employment restrictions.

An extension of a PHMP agreement after it natural conclusion, solely because a license failed to pay the costs is an abusive practice. It is an example of the PNAP Trap of which I write extensively. Don’t let PHMP PNAP/SARPH/PHP pencil pushing caseworkers harass you and your professional career merely because you didn’t pay program costs. After 3 to 4 years of continued employment, maintaining financial responsibility should be much easier. You should fit this expense in your budget and pay monthly PHMP costs so that when you are eligible for termination from the program, PHMP caseworkers can not subject you any more torture. Call me to discuss.

Petitions to Suspend a Professional License While on Probation

A Petition for Appropriate Relief (“PAR”) is a licensing board prosecution motion, presented to a licensing board committee, alleging an emergent need to suspend a licensee’s license.  PARs target licensees currently on PHMP disciplinary probation, whether a voluntary agreements and involuntary, licensing board order.  This is the TRAP I reference throughout my website, blogs, and PNAP Trap articles.

Licensees placed in the disciplinary monitoring unit (“DMU”) or the Voluntary Recovery Program (“VRP”) administered by the Professional Health Monitoring Program (“PHMP”) are subject to extensive board orders imposing mandatory drug or alcohol abstinence.  The bait and switch of provision in every PHMP agreement is that for a licensee to maintain or be re-licensed they agree to automatic license suspension if they violate the terms and conditions of PHMP probation.

The Petition for Appropriate Relief or PAR is the prosecutor’s mechanism advising the board of licensees’ probationary order violations. Immediate license suspension is the initial board remedy.  Thereafter, in order to secure licensure reinstatement, a licensee must file an answer to the PAR within 20 days.  If the licensee does not seek a hearing or continue to honor the terms and conditions of the probation, their license will be indefinitely suspension.

It is through the PAR  that board prosecutors apply a heavy-handed approach to compelling compliance with PHMP’s drug abstinence programs.  In agreeing to the DMU, VRP agreement administered through the PHMP agreement, the licensee consents to this automatic suspension process. Each licensee waves a pre-suspension due process hearing.

PHMP, PNAP, and PHP caseworkers can raise any number of issues in a PAR.  I have extensively written about the overbearing trap into which these programs invite licensees.  PHMP uses the carrot and stick approach to licensees who seek reinstatement of or continuance of licensure.  Missed or failed drug test is the number 1 basis for a PAR filing.  PHMP case worker allegations of positive drug tests are routinely wrong, false, mixed up.

Unfortunately, PHMP cases workers claim improper violations two years after licensee’s participation in the programs. Prosecutors, tasked with keeping their jobs and honoring their clients’ (PHMP – through their respective Board)  demands, follow instruction and file PARs for any number of suspicious reasons. Unfortunately, the challenges to address a PAR while a license is suspended are very limited. Typically, extensions agreements or time periods within the programs is the only result that is accepted in order to secure license reinstatement.  Call me to discuss your case.

Pennsylvania’s Professional License Disciplinary Environment

The Professional Compliance Office within BPOA’s Legal Office, receives an average of 16,000 complaints per year. The office reviews these complaints to establish whether the complaint alleges conduct which is a violation of a practice act, whether a Board has jurisdiction, and whether there is sufficient evidence to merit further investigation. Complaints can be initiated by consumers, licensees, board or commission members, board or commission staff, competitor complaints, other state licensing boards, media information, and law enforcement.

When a complaint requires investigation, the Department’s Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation (BEI) interviews witnesses and obtains documents and collects evidence related to the allegation made in the complaint. Subsequently, a prosecuting attorney determines whether to close the complaint or to initiate a disciplinary action before the administrative licensing board.

Prosecution for violations of standards of practice are initiated through the filing of an Order to Show Cause.  The prosecutor who proceeds with the disciplinary action then bears the burden of proving misconduct before the board. Licensees are provided due process and the board adjudicates the case to either dismiss or sanction. Depending on the severity of the conduct proven, sanctions can range from probation and discretionary suspension, to revocation or automatic suspension as required by statute. Licensees have the right to appeal any sanctions to the Commonwealth Court for review.

Sanctions include: revocations, suspensions, stayed suspensions, voluntary surrenders, probations, reprimands, civil penalties. As of May 16, 2018, there had been 2,494 sanctions issued in fiscal year 2017-2018. This is the highest on record.  Nursing Board sanctions doubled between 2012 and 2018, from 436 to 840. Nursing Board actions account for 31% of all disciplinary cases.   Medical and Osteopathic Board sanctions remained the same at 190 and doubled from 27 to 46, respectively.  Pharmacy and Social Workers Board actions have both dropped by 50%.

Each board and commission is authorized to take disciplinary action based on the commission of a crime. Among these disciplinary actions taken:

• 29 % resulted in suspension;

• 17% resulted in stayed suspension (usually with probationary terms);

 

• 13.5% resulted in automatic suspension due to the Drug Act;

• 12.6% resulted in voluntary surrender of license;

• 12% resulted in revocation;

• 6.5% resulted in reprimands;

• 4.7% resulted in immediate temporary suspensions based on danger to health/safety of public;

• The remaining roughly 5% resulted in probation, a civil penalty (regular or Act 48), a stayed revocation, or other sanction such as remedial education, etc.

Call me to discuss your case.

Act 6 of 2018 — All Licensees Must Report Criminal or Disciplinary Charges with in 30 Days

Act 6 of 2018 is a new law in 2018. It represents a fundamental shift in Pennsylvania licensees’ duty to report criminal charges and disciplinary actions filed against them in any jurisdiction in the entire country. The General Assembly passed the new law in anticipation of medical marijuana. The enforcement environment is getting much stricter in Pennsylvania. Every Pennsylvania professional licensee must report the misdemeanor and felony criminal charges to their respective board within 30 days receipt of criminal charges. It is a disciplinary offense for any licensee to not report within 30 days of receipt of criminal charges.

Act 6 of 2018 specifically authorizes the The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (“BPOA”) to subscribe to JNET. My prior blogs discuss JNET, the criminal reporting database network to which the Nursing Board began subscribing.   JNET now levels the reporting responsibility and Boards learning of its licensees’ criminal conduct.  There was a significant difference between nurses and doctors, pharmacist, realtors, cosmetologists, and funeral directors (and all others) in their criminal charge reporting responsibilities. All licensees are now treated equal. Licensees can not wait to report — thinking at a preliminary hearing charges will be reduced to a summary offense, for which there is a guilty plea. The charging is the reportable event, not the end result.

This all began in 2014.  In late 2014 the General Assembly modified Pennsylvania professional licensing regulations to require nurses to report criminal charges, not conviction, within 30 day days of charges being filing. The BPOA utilized the last several years to create a new enforcement infrastructure and mechanisms to insure disciplinary action is initiated against all nurses who either reported or they learned of criminal conduct or did not report at all.  The reporting responsibility is in addition to reporting criminal charges upon licensee renewal.

Through JNET the Nursing Board became familiar with the criminal reporting subscription service and its information power. Obviously the Board created a flow chart starting at receipt of criminal information through to disciplinary charge initiation for failure to report. The Nursing Board worked out the differences between JNET and nurse reporting of charges. Steps between failure to report, Board investigation, document review, and charges have also been ironed out.

Apparently BPOA had a significantly positive experience with JNET’s notification process, allowing it to better enforce nurses’ reporting responsibility. Expanding 30-day reporting of criminal activity to all other 25 licensing boards will inundate the BPOA with information regarding licensees’ criminal behavior.  This will produce some delays in failure to report and initiation of criminal charges.

The Act also gives the BPOA prosecutor not just the authority but the command to initiate within 30 days an emergent suspension if a licensee’s criminal acts reveal a clear and present danger to the public. The licensee is afforded a preliminary hearing to contest the automatic license suspension. This “automatic suspension process” is not new.

All licensees were spared the obligation to report summary Drug Act violations. By this I mean summary charges for disorderly conduct written by cops giving a break to licensees caught with illegal marijuana. This reporting requirement was in the original versions of the bill but stricken from the final version. The Act includes authority for every Board to institute a schedule of fines for escalating number of failure to report charges.

Act 6 includes a very limited right of expungement. This is only for disciplinary action for failure to comply with continued education requirements. The law explicitly precludes any expungement of any disciplinary order by any board for any other offense. Aside from capping Board fines to $10,000, BPOA can enter a judgment against the licensee if the fine is not paid in 5 years.

Call me to discuss your case.

PNAP Case workers — Do Not Trust Them

Medical professionals or their employers call PNAP case workers and intake administrators for numerous reasons.  The initial complaint call against the licensee  generates the “Letter of Concern.”  It is the response call from the licensee to PHMP/PNAP/SARPH/PAP that starts the proverbial ball rolling.  Here are several important facts each licensee should be aware of before calling PNAP.

PNAP/PAP/PHMP caseworkers are told to not tell inquiring licensees the truth. PNAP and PHMP caseworkers are instructed to emphasize the worst possible legal and licensing consequences if there is no cooperation.  PNAP/PHMP caseworkers are instructed to intimidate and scare licensees into the program. PNAP caseworkers are instructed to tell licensees about the costs of the Mental and Physical Evaluation and court fees.  PNAP caseworkers are instructed provide the minimum legal information possible.

PNAP caseworkers do not know the law.  PNAP/PHMP/PAP case workers are not trained in the several health care boards’ regulations.  PHMP/PNAP/PAP case workers do not understand the legal implications of the wrong advice they give. PNAP case workers do not know how to tell the truth.  Some PNAP caseworkers may be in the program too.

 

For every medical professional, agreeing to the initial PNAP assessment is the worst thing you can do. Current conflicts between the DSM-IV and DSM V alcohol use disorder – mild, moderate, or severe – are creating significant issues in determinations of impairment for PNAP assessors.  I have learned that the PNAP assessors could be  calling the PNAP caseworker and managers, who help the assessor diagnosis an impairment. This is improper.

PNAP and PHMP assessments should be performed independently, by appropriately trained medical professionals. PNAP and PHMP supervisors (Simpson and Knipe) should not be consulted on diagnosis. This type of diagnosis cooperation smacks of a pre-ordained determination of an impairment to insure medical professionals go in the program.  Please understand the above is not an anecdote or a hypothetical scenario. I have been told about PNAP supervisors providing supplemental questions and facts to assessors to insure a determination of impairment and a conclusion that the monitoring program is required.  Ethically, any assessor/PNAP consultation is improper.

This tells me that the system of initial communication with PNAP (in which they lie to you) and the read assessment process renders this entire program unacceptable. Be careful.  Call me.

Notice of A Disciplinary Proceeding

Pennsylvania’s licensing boards officially communicate with their licensees only through regular mail or certified mail, return receipt requested.  Licensing boards are not legally authorized to communicate via email any disciplinary correspondence.   This is why every disciplinary board requires licensees, not the board staff,  to update their own mailing address.

There always is a percentage of licensees that after  licensure move throughout the Commonwealth and country.  Many fail to update their licensing board with their new mailing address. Licensees who fail to update their prospective board with their most recent address expose themselves to disciplinary action in their absence.

Moving Truck

Moving on Up

A new client, over two years ago became divorced, moved out-of-state, and failed to update the Pennsylvania Nursing Board with her new Florida mailing address.  Unbeknownst to her, two years ago the Pennsylvania Nursing Board commenced an investigation and initiated disciplinary proceedings against her license.  Board mail included a Mental and Physical evaluation petition, medical expert appointment scheduling notices, hearing notices, and formal board disciplinary decisions.

For the last two years her disgruntled ex-spouse – who stayed in the marital residence – received all of her mail.  He threw out all her mail, never telling her anything.  Because she was unaware, all appointments, hearings, and decisions took place in her absence. This client was ignorant to all that was taking place against her license in her absence. Her lack of notice is now causing significant long-term detrimental consequences with her license because Nursing Board disciplinary decisions were entered against her.

This client has been working in Florida under a second professional license.  Her most recent employer’s basic regulatory compliance process included an annual subscription to the National Practitioner Data Bank (“NPDB”) automated inquiry process for all licensees. Consequently, her employer was automatically notified of her 2018 Pennsylvania Nursing Board license suspension – of which she had no idea.  She was terminated and can not work until she rectifies her Pennsylvania nursing license disciplinary action.  All other potential employers will see the NPDB disciplinary action.

These disciplinary proceedings transpired over 18 months. Having not updated her formal mailing address, she did not receive the Mental and Physical Evaluation appointments, hearing notices, and formal disciplinary decisions. By the time she became aware of her Pennsylvania Nursing Board license suspension it was too late to take an appeal.

Her only recourse is to comply with the terms of the license suspension order. This includes now attending the Mental and Physical evaluation, petitioning the Nursing Board for Reinstatement of her license, and attending a hearing in which she must prove she can resume the competent practice of professional nursing with reasonable skill and safety.  This process will take three to six months.  She is unable to practice nursing in her new jurisdiction.  Her State of Florida Nursing Board license may also subject to disciplinary action based upon the Pennsylvania Nursing Board disciplinary action.

State boards are permitted to engage in disciplinary actions against licensees.  Boards must afford all licensees the opportunity to be heard in accordance with administrative agency law.  This law includes a provision that by regular mailing administrative actions to the licensee’s last known address the Board is affording that licensee reasonable notice of proceedings and is giving the licensee a sufficient opportunity to be heard.

Pennsylvania’s General Rules of Administrative Practice and Procedure (“GRAPP”) authorize service of any proceeding by regular mail, without a return receipt requested.  Email is not authorized.  Due process under both the federal and state Constitutions merely requires licensing boards make a respondent/licensee sufficiently aware of the charges against them and the procedures by which a defense can be presented.  Regular mail of any disciplinary petition or notice satisfies this constitutional obligation.  A licensee/respondent will suffer the consequences if they fail to attend evaluations, respond to petitions, file an answer within the time provided, or does not appear at hearings to challenge the charges against them.

In this client’s matter, having failed to attend a Mental and Physical and Evaluation, case law and board procedure allowed the prosecutor to file a petition Deeming Matters Admitted.  The Board accepts as true all allegations that warranted the Mental and Physical Evaluation.  This means mere suggestions of  drug use, work-related incidents, and/or drunk driving charges warranting an expert evaluation – but not proof of an impairment – become admitted and uncontested facts of an impairment.

This licensee cannot file a motion challenging the validity of the underlying mental and physical evaluation order, the factual findings of an impairment, or the need for monitoring of which the Board concluded after a hearing at which the licensee did not attend. The licensee can not contest the findings of fact or formal disciplinary action, which language the board transmits to the National Practitioner Data Bank.

This licensee’s failure to update her address precipitates a cascade of events that are easily avoided.  Licensing boards throughout the country have set in place this minimal notice and mailing procedure to be able to discipline in and out of state licensees in their absence.  The boards do not have to chase licensees down to discipline them.  Unlike in criminal matters where a defendant must almost always be present, state license boards can strip licensee’s of their property interest in their absence.  This client’s unfortunate predicament is a perfect example of the pitfalls of the failing to update your formal address with your licensing board.

Medical Marijuana and the Pitfalls for the Professional

The pitfalls of medical marijuana for the professional are more evident every day. Several weeks ago I wrote a blog on the challenges facing licensees who seek a medical marijuana card due to a medical condition. Prescription Drug History   In another blog I wrote about the complexities facing medical professionals who seek to become medical marijuana authorized prescribers.

 

In Pot Doc Article the Philadelphia Inquirer reveals Pennsylvania’s Medical Board, Health Department, FBI, and DEA investigatory practices in this field.  If you are a medical professional, please read this article.  I represented a peripheral, part time doctor moon lighting for Dr. Nikparavarfard.

Doctors working in a medical practice that includes a “Pot Doc“ – doctors that are authorized to write prescriptions for medical marijuana – are subjecting themselves to unnecessary oversight and inquiry.  When a  “Pot Doc” exposes himself to both criminal and licensing  investigations, they expose all nurses or doctors employed by that practice.  Drug Act violations are routinely found and criminal charges filed!.

The FBI and DEA’s investigation of Dr. Nikparvarfard’s Scranton office – the Pot Doc – necessarily also included  my client’s prescribing patterns.  An invasive, long running investigation turned to her simply because the police were investigating that practice and needed leverage against Dr. Nikparvarfard.  Experienced and accomplished undercover FBI, DEA, Health Department agents then ensnared my client.  Again, only because they were looking at Dr. Nik’s practice.

My client was not the prescribing “Pot Doc.”  However, the overarching Pot Doc investigation expanded to any potential criminal activity discovered within the medical practice.  But for my client working for the Pot doc and his medical practice, my client would not have been under surveillance. Unfortunately she was.

Once my client became known to FBI, her prescription and Medicaid/Medicare billing patterns were easily examined, patients contacted, and medical procedures evaluated.  Undercover patients were sent to the practice.  All because of the attention brought on the practice by Pot Doc Nikparvarfard.

One bad apple spoils the pie; two or three bad apples subject professionals to jail.  These types of investigations render medical professionals (nurses and doctors) unemployed and potentially unemployable.  Thereafter, professionals are the target of multiple investigations by medical boards, DEA,  Health Departments, and potentially the U.S. Department of justice.  But for my client’s employment with a Pot Doc, she would not have come under any surveillance.

This case is but one example of many to come.  Overarching public safety concerns, opiates in the news, and an aggressive enforcement environment of a new regulatory scheme create huge risks for both Pot Docs and those doctors and nurses who work with them.

Please call me to discuss