After spending many years getting the education you need to become a pharmacist, devoting more than 1700 hours to meeting the state's practice requirement, then spending time studying for and taking the NAPLEX and MPJE exams, you know better than anybody how valuable your Ohio pharmacist license is to you. Your livelihood as a pharmacist depends on your license being active, and if you are arrested or convicted of any crime, in addition to any criminal charges you face, your pharmacist license might be affected as well.
In Ohio, you are required to report certain arrests as well as convictions to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. Knowing what you need to report, when you need to report it, and what is best to include in a report are issues the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team is ready to help you with. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. Tell us about your case, and let us tell you how we can help you protect your Ohio pharmacist license.
Reporting Requirements for Pharmacists Accused of Crimes in Ohio
Ohio has a clear reporting requirement for pharmacists who have been arrested. A pharmacist who has been arrested on a felony charge must notify the Board of Pharmacy within 10 days after the arrest. The reporting requirement for arrests applies to any felony, even if it is a felony that arguably has no relation to the pharmacist's work.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help if you need to report a felony arrest to the Ohio BOP. While there is a specific report form that you need to use to make the report, you are allowed to include as much information as you think the BOP may find helpful when you file your report. We can review your case with you and work with you to draft a report that provides the BOP with not only the basic information about your arrest that the form requires, but also a detailed description of the background to the arrest, including any extenuating circumstances that may relate to the arrest.
It is important that the report you make to the BOP of your arrest is complete, and that it includes a record of your arrest. If you don't submit a full report to the BOP within the 10-day period after you are arrested, that can be treated by the BOP as misconduct, and you can be disciplined for failure to report.
The other thing that is vitally important is that your criminal attorney understands that, even in cases where you were not arrested for a felony, the outcome of your criminal case can affect your pharmacist's license. Our attorneys can explain how the Ohio BOP may react in terms of disciplinary actions and the different ways that your criminal case may resolve itself. It is important to consider not only the criminal law consequences of the way your case ends, but also the effect that it may have on your pharmacist license before you make any important decision, such as accepting a plea bargain, in your criminal case.
Reporting Requirements for Ohio Pharmacists When Their Criminal Cases are Resolved
Pharmacists licensed in Ohio must also report when certain types of criminal charges have been disposed of. This requirement applies to “disqualifying offenses” – a long list that includes major crimes as well as those that might not be considered as serious, such as possession of an unauthorized cable TV device and writing bad checks. While a verdict of not guilty won't trigger the reporting requirement, almost any other disposition of one of these cases will, including.
- A guilty verdict
- A guilty plea
- A finding that the defendant is eligible for intervention in lieu of conviction
- An agreement to allow the pharmacist to enter a “diversion program” or a deferred prosecution program
In any of these cases, the pharmacist must file a report with the BOP within 10 days after the matter has been disposed of. The form that is used is the same form that is used to report a felony arrest.
It is very important to understand that, here too, the information you provide to the BOP in your report can make a difference in how the BOP reacts. Working with one of the experienced attorneys from the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team will increase the possibility that the BOP will elect not to take disciplinary action against you after your report is submitted, though, of course, whether or not to open a disciplinary investigation is always up to the BOP.
Complaints to the Board of Pharmacy
Other people can also report you for any number of reasons, including if they learn you have been arrested for even the most minor of reasons. Once the BOP receives a complaint, it is required to review it to determine whether the BOP has jurisdiction over the matter raised in the complaint and then to determine whether it should open an investigation. This means that any person who might have a dispute with you about something, or who may hold a grudge against you for some reason, can file a complaint with the BOP that can allege any number of things.
That said, the BOP has limits in terms of what it is allowed to discipline pharmacists for. These limits are set by Ohio's statutes and regulations, and if a complaint alleges that a pharmacist was rude to the complaining customer, for example, the BOP is unlikely to take action because politeness is not something that is required of licensed pharmacists by Ohio law.
Investigations by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy
If the BOP decides that a self-report or a complaint should be investigated, it will assign the matter to one or more investigators, who may be enforcement attorneys. The investigator is very likely to interview you as well as any other witnesses who may have information that relates to the allegations that the BOP is investigating.
Investigator interviews can be difficult and stressful. Most of us are not used to having to answer questions from someone who is investigating misconduct allegations against us. Our nerves may work against us, and we might forget to mention relevant information that could help our case in response to the investigator's questions. That is why in many cases, your attorney will go over the interview with you in advance. You might even act out what the situation will be like, so that you feel more comfortable when it happens and can provide more complete answers.
Your attorney can also be there with you when you're interviewed, to help make sure the questions you're asked are clear and fair; that you understand them before you answer them; and that your answers are complete. If the investigator has asked for documents, your attorney can help you look for them and make sure they are turned over in a timely way so that the BOP does not accuse you of failing to cooperate with the investigation.
Formal Charges
After the investigation, the BOP may decide to bring formal disciplinary charges against you, and it may propose a particular sanction as well. Most disciplinary matters are resolved by way of an agreement – a settlement – versus going to a full hearing. These can often be negotiated, and when you have an attorney from the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team on your side, you will benefit from their years of experience defending other professional license holders and negotiating with licensing boards.
A negotiated resolution of your case can make a significant difference in your license. That is because the Ohio BOP has a number of options when it comes to disciplining pharmacists for misconduct. These include:
- Reprimanding the pharmacist
- Placing the pharmacist on probation, with certain conditions that must be met before the probation will be lifted.
- Fining the pharmacist
- Restricting or limiting the type of licensed pharmacy work that the pharmacist is allowed to do
- Suspending the license
- Revoking the license
Having your Ohio pharmacist license suspended or revoked can, of course, be devastating in a number of ways, one being the impact on your ability to make a living. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median income of Ohio's more than 13,000 licensed pharmacists in 2024 was more than $130,000 per year, almost three times the median annual income for all occupations tracked by the BLS. That is great news if you are a licensed pharmacist, but it also makes it much more difficult if you can no longer work as a pharmacist because of a suspension or revocation. Finding another job that will pay as well could be a significant challenge.
Public Notice of Discipline
In addition to the personal consequences of any discipline imposed on you by the BOP, the fact that you have been disciplined will become part of your public record, and the decision by the BOP to discipline you will also be published. Your record can easily be searched on the License Look-Up webpage maintained by the State of Ohio and will reflect any public discipline you've received.
Formal Hearings
If your disciplinary case is not resolved by way of an agreement, it will proceed to a formal hearing. It is important if you want a hearing that you ask for one within the time frame set in the notice you receive from the BOP with its accusations against you. When you are working with an attorney from the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team, we will make sure your request (and any other filings that are required) are made within the deadlines set by the BOP so that you don't risk defaulting.
At the hearing, both sides can present witnesses and cross-examine the other side's witnesses. They can also introduce evidence and argue against evidence that the other side seeks to introduce. The hearing officer may also accept briefs from both sides. After the hearing, the hearing officer will issue a written recommendation for the outcome. Both sides can submit responses to those recommendations, including objections. The matter then goes to the BOP, which will review the hearing officer's recommendations and any objections to those recommendations before issuing its decision.
Decision
A majority of the BOP present for the meeting, where the hearing officer's recommendations and any objections are being considered, must vote either to accept the hearing officer's recommendations, to reject them, or to come to some other result. The BOP will prepare a set of findings of fact and conclusions of law to support its decision and will send that to you. Appeals, on limited grounds, are possible but must be filed within a specified period of time.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team Can Defend Your Ohio Pharmacist License
When it comes to your Ohio pharmacist license, you are dealing with what is probably your most valuable personal asset. It is something you have worked hard to earn and to keep, and if you lose your ability to practice pharmacy, it can devastate you financially as well as personally. The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help you protect your rights and defend your license if you're faced with misconduct allegations in Ohio.
Our attorneys understand Ohio's laws, regulations, and procedures that apply in pharmacist disciplinary matters. We can protect your rights and help you from the day you learn you're under investigation. We can also help you with your questions to make sure you meet the requirements that the BOP imposes on pharmacists when it comes to disclosing arrests, convictions, plea bargains, and other dispositions of criminal matters. We regularly defend pharmacists and other professionals facing disciplinary charges all across the country, and are ready to help you too.
To learn more about the ways that the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help you protect your Ohio pharmacist license, call us at 888.535.3686 or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation to answer your questions and tell you about how we can help.
