No one likes to be ignored. If you are talking to someone, you reasonably expect they will listen.
If the “listener” is not listening, their next step is to turn up the volume.
If a Board of Medicine writes to you seeking an explanation for care you rendered plus a copy of the full medical record, they expect you will send it to them. At the very least, they expect the full medical record, even if you choose not to tell your side of the story. If you fail to timely respond, the Board will turn up the volume.
So, one take home message is to timely respond to requests from the Board of Medicine. Often, with the assistance of an attorney who specializes in managing Board complaints.
But that’s not the main point of this blog.
To timely respond to a request from the Board, you must learn that it is trying to reach you. The Board must have your CURRENT contact information on file. You have an affirmative duty to notify the Board of the best ways to reach you – by mail, email, and likely phone.
If the Board has dated information that is no longer current, you will not receive what it sends. Its message will head to the wrong address. You will not know what it seeks.
It will reasonably assume you are intentionally ignoring them.
Then it might act.
If there’s a patient complaint, for example, and you fail to respond, the Board might ultimately deliver a default judgment of discipline against you. Such discipline would be reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). In fact, some physicians learn of such default disciplinary actions from the NPDB, and the NPDB may actually have your current contact information.
Sadly, such discipline may be far more onerous than what you might have received had you timely responded.
So, make sure that every Board where you hold a license has the best current ways to reach you in every jurisdiction where you hold a medical license. Discipline in one jurisdiction can morph into discipline in many jurisdictions. And a minor slap on the wrist in one jurisdiction can turn into a license revocation in another—just because you failed to timely respond.
Really.
Is that fair? Probably not.
Is it legal?
Yes.
What if the Board had your current information but you could not respond because you were in an extreme situation, and unavailable? For example, on a ventilator in an ICU. Or serving your country in the military in a combat zone.
You likely still need a way to respond before the Board takes final action and loses its authority over the case. There is often a narrow window to appeal in court after a final Board action, but that window also has a finite timeline.
My recommendation is to plan for the worst. You likely already have life insurance and disability insurance to plan for uncertainty. To plan for the worst. So, have a plan in place to manage communications from the Board if you are unavailable, ill, or out of the country. Plan for the worst. If someone in your office reaches the Board before the dominos start falling, it likely will understand and pause the process.
Now for your assignment:
- Double check all of your contact information with every entity where you hold a license or privileges. And others. Medical Boards, DEA, NPI, NPDB, Hospitals, Medicare, and Medicaid. I’m sure I left out some. Put this information in an Excel spreadsheet. If you move, it will be easier to manage down the road. Make sure the contact information is current.
- Assign a point person, who in your absence, can open mail from Medical Boards, DEA, etc. Yes, even if you’re on vacation. Surely you can trust one person with that task.
OK, that’s my mundane message. Managing your contact information. Do not be a cautionary tale. Don’t let a minor Board problem turn into a major Board problem.
What do you think?
