Medical Justice provides consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. We also provide counsel specific to COVID-19. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a consultation – or use the tool shared below.
“Can Medical Justice solve my problem?” Click here to review recent consultations…
all. Here’s a sample of typical recent consultation discussions…
- Former employee stole patient list. Now a competitor…
- Patient suing doctor in small claims court…
- Just received board complaint…
- Allegations of sexual harassment by employee…
- Patient filed police complaint doctor inappropriately touched her…
- DEA showed up to my office…
- Patient “extorting” me. “Pay me or I’ll slam you online.”
- My carrier wants me to settle. My case is fully defensible…
- My patient is demanding an unwarranted refund…
- How do I safely terminate doctor-patient relationship?
- How to avoid reporting to Data Bank…
- I want my day in court. But don’t want to risk my nest egg…
- Hospital wants to fire me…
- Sham peer review inappropriately limiting privileges…
- Can I safely use stem cells in my practice?
- Patient’s results are not what was expected…
- Just received request for medical records from an attorney…
- Just received notice of intent to sue…
- Just received summons for meritless case…
- Safely responding to negative online reviews…
We challenge you to supply us with a medico-legal obstacle we haven’t seen before. Know you are in good hands. Schedule your consultation below – or click here to visit our booking page.
There are close to 1 million physicians licensed to practice medicine in the country. The vast majority sidesteps encounter with law enforcement.
Not all do.
It could be a DUI.
A barroom brawl.
Stalking.
Drugs.
Murder.
If you are arrested, do you have a duty to self-report to the Board of Medicine?
Well, it depends upon what you are arrested for and where you are licensed. Meaning, all states are different.
To give this color, North Carolina law mandates physicians have 30 days to self-report to the NC Medical Board “under GS 90-16, any felony arrest or indictment, any arrest for driving while impaired, and any arrest or indictment involving controlled substances.”
In California, under Section 802.1 physicians don’t have to report the arrest. But they must report indictment or charging of a felony. Here’s the specific language under the California Business and Professions Code:
A physician and surgeon, osteopathic physician and surgeon, a doctor of Podiatric medicine, and a physician assistant shall report either of the following to the entity that issued his or her license:
(a) (1) The bringing of an indictment or information charging a felony against the licensee.
(A) The conviction of the licensee, including any verdict of guilty, or plea of guilty or no contest, of any felony or misdemeanor.
(B) The report required by this subdivision shall be made in writing within 30 days of the date of the bringing of the indictment or information or of the conviction.
(C) Failure to make a report required by this section shall be a public offense punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
In Texas, under 22 TAC §173.3, physicians have 30 days to report conviction for a felony, a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a Class C misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
In Texas, physicians must also self-report within 30 days:
(4) A description of any charges reported to the board to which the physician has pleaded no contest, for which the physician is the subject of deferred adjudication or pretrial diversion, or in which sufficient facts of guilt were found and the matter was continued by a court;
(5) An initial finding by the trier of fact of guilt of a felony under:
(A) Chapter 481 or 483, Health and Safety Code (relating to offenses involving controlled substances and dangerous drugs);
(B) Section 485.033, Health and Safety Code (relating to offenses involving inhalant paraphernalia); or
(C) the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. §801 et seq.);
It’s not clear what the meaning of “initial finding by the trier of fact of guilt of a felony” is. Is this prior to an appeal? Something else? Hard to say.
The point of this is that the duty to self-report to the Board varies state by state. In some states, you must report early – soon after an arrest. In other states, you do not have to report the arrest, but only after being charged/indicted of felony. In other states, you only have to self-report after you are adjudicated guilty or accept a plea of no-contest. Every state is different.
And remember, if you are arrested or indicted in one state and have licenses in multiple states, you will have different obligations in each state. But if you are disciplined by the Board in the most stringent state, a state where you may not even practice, that discipline can boomerang back to your home state and create a problem.
Take California as an example.
In Medical Board of California v. Superior Court (Lam) (2001) 88 Cal.App.4th 1001, the court looked at the interplay between sections 141 & 2305 and upheld the application of both sections to physician disciplinary actions. It was specifically noted that even in cases where the out-of-state action would not have been grounds for discipline in California, section 141 permits the Medical Board to impose discipline. In other words, Section 141, is the catchall statute designed for a situation where the out of state misconduct does not mirror the disciplinary scheme in California such that the precise nature of the disciplinary action can be discerned. (Medical Board v. Superior Court (Lam) (2001) 88 Cal. App. 4th 1001, 1018-1019.)
As the Board persuasively argues, Dr. Lam’s construction would render without consequence out-of-state discipline where the basis for that discipline cannot be determined with precision, because, for instance, it was resolved by stipulation, and no charging documents had been made part of the record, as here. As one court has opined, limiting California discipline to circumstances in which “licensees admit culpability or where misconduct is proven in the foreign jurisdiction would make California a safe haven for medical practitioners who, in the face of charges of unprofessional conduct enter into consent decrees in other jurisdictions without making any admissions, leave that other jurisdiction, establish medical practices in California [88 Cal. App. 4th 1020] and thus avoid review of their medical practices by any licensing agency.” fn. 52 Nothing suggests the Legislature intended this result.
The take home points are this:
Be aware of self-reporting requirements to the various Boards of Medicine in which you hold licenses.
Discipline in one state can create reciprocal discipline in another state, even if the original basis for discipline would not rise to the level of being actionable in the “less onerous” self-reporting state.
So, be cautious about holding more licenses than you need to do your job.
What do you think?
Medical Justice provides consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. We also provide counsel specific to COVID-19. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a consultation – or use the tool shared below.
“Can Medical Justice solve my problem?” Click here to review recent consultations…
all. Here’s a sample of typical recent consultation discussions…
- Former employee stole patient list. Now a competitor…
- Patient suing doctor in small claims court…
- Just received board complaint…
- Allegations of sexual harassment by employee…
- Patient filed police complaint doctor inappropriately touched her…
- DEA showed up to my office…
- Patient “extorting” me. “Pay me or I’ll slam you online.”
- My carrier wants me to settle. My case is fully defensible…
- My patient is demanding an unwarranted refund…
- How do I safely terminate doctor-patient relationship?
- How to avoid reporting to Data Bank…
- I want my day in court. But don’t want to risk my nest egg…
- Hospital wants to fire me…
- Sham peer review inappropriately limiting privileges…
- Can I safely use stem cells in my practice?
- Patient’s results are not what was expected…
- Just received request for medical records from an attorney…
- Just received notice of intent to sue…
- Just received summons for meritless case…
- Safely responding to negative online reviews…
We challenge you to supply us with a medico-legal obstacle we haven’t seen before. Know you are in good hands. Schedule your consultation below – or click here to visit our booking page.
Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Medical Justice, is a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; the American College of Legal Medicine; and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society. In the process of conceiving, funding, developing, and growing Medical Justice, Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice issues, counterclaims, and internet-based assaults on reputation.
Dr. Segal was a practicing neurosurgeon for approximately ten years, during which time he also played an active role as a participant on various state-sanctioned medical review panels designed to decrease the incidence of meritless medical malpractice cases.
Dr. Segal holds a M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgical residency. Dr. Segal served as a Spinal Surgery Fellow at The University of South Florida Medical School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the AOA Medical Honor Society. Dr. Segal received his B.A. from the University of Texas and graduated with a J.D. from Concord Law School with highest honors.
In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of DarPharma, Inc, a biotechnology company in Chapel Hill, NC, focused on the discovery and development of first-of-class pharmaceuticals for neuropsychiatric disorders.
Dr. Segal is also a partner at Byrd Adatto, a national business and health care law firm. Byrd Adatto was selected as a Best Law Firm in the 2023 edition of the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. With decades of combined experience in serving doctors, dentists, and other providers, Byrd Adatto has a national pedigree to address most legal issues that arise in the business and practice of medicine.
Good reason to stop renewing my SC license. Thanks for the tip.
I think that any physician who is arrested in any state should consult Medical Justice, which obviously has a handle on this “arresting” issue. However, an actual arrest is not necessary for a medical board to learn of encounters with the law. NC monitored police blotters (ties between board investigators and police are deep and long-lasting), and investigators reportedly showed up in a doc’s office on a Monday morning after a weekend “fender bender” in a parking lot (that did NOT result in any booking), apparently looking for actionable matters.
I also agree that it is foolhardy to maintain a license in any state in which you do not reasonably believe you might practice. I discovered blatant ADA noncompliance in NC’s renewal application in 2008, which led me to inactivate that license which I had only maintained prophylactically because I still had parents there. If I had not been very ADA informed, this query might have easily been overlooked, thus setting myself up for discipline for “lack of candor” in dealings with the board, an unprofessional act. [I later learned that the ADA impermissible questions were removed when staff complained that they resulted in too much work with too little yield, namely physicians who might be ripe for PHP “intervention”. To its credit, NC now has one of the most ADA compliant licensure and renewal questions in the country. ]
But yes, read CAREFULLY any and all materials you receive from your board, including newsletters and updates about changes in laws and regulations, and try to be familiar with all publicly available internal policies in your state. And when in doubt, report (after your MJ consultation!)
Many years ago, I recall a group of physicians got together in Washington State to fabricate a scheme to purchase new cars in Oregon and drive them back home to avoid the WA state sales tax.
This hit the newspapers and the medical Board lifted their licenses! They had actually done it.
Physicians are under careful watch for “moral turpitude.” Of course it was also illegal. A medical license is a very fragile commodity. When I was in DPM school, one of our professors gave us a “talking to” on that very issue.
I’m sure most of us remembered that particular lecture.
Michael M. Rosenblatt, DPM
Great comments from Dr. Rosenblatt and Dr. Andrew. Professionally, two of the things I value as much as anything, is my relationship with MJ and the best healthcare attorney in the state of Tennessee. I am mediately called that attorney when I was arrested for DUI. There was not a reporting requirement in Tennessee. The BAC of “undetectable” eventually allowed that arrest to be formally expunged. Just another riveting chapter in my autobiography!
A NH speeding ticket…I self-reported, and the Board din’t care. No drugs, alcohol or prostitutes – just my wife.
Let me state that the NY License Board, if you have an active license, or self cancelled license., or a training license, will copy any Board discipline that you got in any other state. Grossly unfair. They will send a notice of a Hearing and they will find you guilty, even it you brought the best lawyer with you. It is my understanding that it is in the statute.
It is my experience that certain specialties will get hammered fast by Boards for various things done in other states. Neurosurgeons, for example, are hammered very fast. Why? The Boards do communicate with each other, so there is no hiding of anything.
DUIs. It is my experience that it is best to self-report to the Board, even if it is uncomfortable. Why? if you self report, you are a gentleman/lady. When they find out on their own, they will hammer you. One Ortho got his license suspended x 6 months for this, and it just ruined his life for a long while. The cascade effect means he loses his Ortho Boards, panels, and other grief.
Not fair, but, the very political Boards are judged by the number of major disciplines given out to docs.
Med Justice is quite excellent. No question. Tatoo their number on your body and call them early rather than later. Remember, the lawyers who specialize on docs concerns are our friends, and just tell them the truth so they can help you to the max of their ability.
Richard Willner
Center for Peer Review Justice
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