Pharmacists have an important role in society. Your community relies on you to receive both their medications and advice on how to safely use them. Medical professionals rely on pharmacists to ensure that their patients complete their treatments. Medical settings, be they a research lab or a retail drugstore, also entail frequent access to controlled substances. Subsequently, you are expected to meet certain standards of professional conduct out of concern for public safety. However, these expectations can inadvertently put your pharmacist’s license at risk.
If you are convicted of a crime, your Connecticut pharmacist license could be in jeopardy. The Connecticut Commission of Pharmacy (CCP) takes pharmacy regulation very seriously and may subject pharmacists and pharmacy interns to disciplinary action out of an abundance of caution. If the CCP believes your conduct is a threat to public safety, they may suspend your license, refuse to renew your pharmacist license, or even bar you from practicing pharmacy altogether.
If you are a pharmacist with an arrest record or disciplinary history, or you have recently been convicted of a crime in Connecticut, you should arrange professional license defense as soon as possible. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team has several years of experience in representing pharmacists to licensing boards nationwide. Tell us about your case via our online contact form or call 888-535-3686.
Are Connecticut Pharmacists Required to Self-Report Arrests?
Connecticut does not require current or prospective pharmacists and pharmacy interns to self-report their entire criminal history. The exception is if you are accused of violating any statutes related to pharmacy practice, drugs, or medical devices in any U.S. jurisdiction, including both states and U.S. territories.
Since CCP primarily focuses on pharmacy-related crimes when examining pharmacist applications, you do not even need to self-report DUIs and violent crimes. However, the CCP may suspend or revoke your pharmacist license if you are deemed a threat to public safety due to incompetence, negligence, deterioration from illness or aging, emotional disorders, and/or substance abuse, regardless of criminal convictions. If you do have criminal convictions, though, the CCP is apt to consider them when deciding whether to issue or renew your pharmacist license.
While pharmacy-specific statutes are the Board’s main concern, you also need to self-report any disciplinary history in U.S. states and territories. You do not need to report whether complaints were made, only disciplinary action taken by any boards. The CCP has two different licensing applications for this purpose. You can easily complete the online application if you do not have any prior disciplinary history, but you have to mail in your application with a written request and wait until the next Board meeting. The CCP meets on the last Wednesday of every month, with no meetings in February, July, and December.
What Disciplinary Actions Can the CCP Take Against Connecticut Pharmacists?
The CCP has the authority to discipline pharmacists who have violated any federal, state, or local drug, medical device, and pharmacy statutes in any U.S. state or territory, were already subject to completed or pending disciplinary action in any U.S. jurisdiction, or have participated in fraudulent transactions. The CCP can also take disciplinary action for failing to disclose your disciplinary history and relevant criminal history, not completing your continuing education in a timely manner, or going through the incorrect licensure process if you are transferring your pharmacist credentials from another state or country.
In addition to suspension or revocation of your pharmacist license, the State of Connecticut may assess civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.
How Does the CCP Decide on the Severity of Disciplinary Action?
The CCP examines applications on a case-by-case basis. Since they have a separate application process for pharmacists with prior disciplinary history, criminal history is disclosed separately. They will consider the following factors when determining whether a pharmacist should be subject to discipline after a violation is alleged:
- Disciplinary history in Connecticut and any other U.S. states and territories
- History of CCP complaints, and the amount and nature of them
- Whether you failed to disclose your disciplinary or pharmacy-related criminal history on your initial application
- Pharmacy, drug, and device-related criminal history, if any
- Date of pharmacy-related convictions or arrests
- Rehabilitative efforts have been made since criminal incidents
- Your job performance and comments from the medical community where you work
- How often do you face the public, and how much of a threat is your conduct to public safety
- Substance abuse history and actions taken to address substance abuse issues, if your charges are drug or alcohol-related.
Even if you do not have a criminal or disciplinary history, the CCP may suspend or revoke your pharmacist license if they believe you are being negligent in your duties and impaired due to illness, aging, or substance abuse (which includes alcohol). However, the CCP cannot restrict a pharmacist who has a condition protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if the condition does not affect their motor skills.
CCP investigations and inquiries are not criminal investigations, although it is prudent to approach them as such. You may be facing disability-related discrimination or unfair treatment for seeking rehabilitative assistance for substance abuse. You may need to make a case to get your pharmacist license reinstated or a suspension halted if the CCP determined that discipline was warranted. The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm can review your case and tailor our defense strategy to CCP disciplinary procedures and the factors that the examiners examine closely in their decisions.
Which Documents Can Build Your Defense with the CCP?
If you have prior criminal or disciplinary history, it can make your Connecticut pharmacist license application or renewal more difficult. However, it does not have to be impossible if you build your defense in advance with the proper documentation.
Because the CCP only examines disciplinary history and pharmacy, drug, and device-related criminal history, you do not need to provide a complete criminal history or your entire life story to the board. However, the burden of proof ultimately rests with you to demonstrate the facts and circumstances of your charges and the rehabilitative actions you took since your conviction or discipline. Thorough records that you can easily access and reference will expedite the process and also help our team advocate for you.
You should have the following documents and information on hand when you are applying for your license, renewal, or CCP inquiries:
- Certified official court documents with the date and circumstances of your charges, clearly showing the sections of the law violated and the disposition of the case
- If you were on probation, the order of probation and the official court document that you completed probation
- Court-issued certificates of rehabilitation
- Proof of expungement
- Any other court orders relevant to pharmacy, drug, or device-related arrests or convictions
- Certified documents from the CCP or other state pharmacy boards stating the actions taken against you
- A detailed write-up of the circumstances surrounding your criminal and/or disciplinary history and any rehabilitative actions taken since these incidents to avoid repeating them in the future
- If facing discipline for substance abuse, documented evidence of seeking professional counseling or rehabilitative treatment, such as admission and discharge summaries, is required.
- Supportive letters on official organizational letterhead from employers, pharmacy instructors, professional counselors, support group sponsors, probation officers, and other professionals in positions of authority who can vouch for your quality of work and efforts to change your life
- Proof of community service, further education, and other efforts to improve your life and recompense victims since the charges or incidents
Unlike many other state pharmacy boards, the CCP does not offer a voluntary program for pharmacists battling substance abuse. If your charges are related to substance abuse, the burden of proof that you are making rehabilitative efforts may be higher compared to other states.
Tough situations in your professional setting do not always offer good choices, and whatever option you pick may just result in an escalated complaint. Your personal life may also get difficult, especially in a stressful and public-facing job. These circumstances should be detailed when you need to disclose prior incidents to the CCP. When making the case for why you should have your license reinstated or issued, discuss what you learned from the experience, how you’ve changed since, the efforts you made to change your life and give back to any injured parties, and how you will avoid making the same mistakes going forward.
You worked hard to earn your pharmacist license, and prior disciplinary or criminal history can make it difficult to maintain what you accomplished. The CCP also takes these matters seriously, given the immense impact that pharmacists have on public safety. While it can be difficult to maintain your pharmacist license if the CCP decides to discipline you, it is not all lost. The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm is prepared to advocate for you at every step of the Connecticut pharmacist licensure and renewal processes and provide comprehensive representation should you require it.
Criminal Defense vs. Professional License Defense for Connecticut Pharmacists
Prior criminal history can make it difficult to find housing, a job, credit, and other major aspects of day-to-day life. Subsequently, a criminal defense attorney seems like your best option in helping get a lighter disciplinary action from professional licensing boards like the CCP, and advocating for you to turn over a new leaf. However, professional license defense is a more nuanced practice area with several notable differences to criminal law although there are some commonalities.
CCP disciplinary action has a few similarities to criminal matters, but they are starkly different in many other respects. State criminal courts are typically administered through a state-level Department of Justice, pharmacy boards may be stand-alone agencies or under a state department or division’s umbrella. The CCP in particular operates as a sub-agency of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, many other state pharmacy boards are part of state Departments of Health, Divisions of Public Health, or similar agencies. The CCP governs pharmacists, pharmacy managers, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians.
Criminal court matters are determined by judges and prosecutors, while pharmacy boards are comprised of pharmacy professionals who decide who is and isn’t fit to practice. The CCP and every other state pharmacy board also have their own counsel who focus their practice on drug and pharmacy laws, but they subsequently use drastically different standards of evidence than prosecutors.
The CCP and other state pharmacy boards operate in a considerably smaller scope compared to criminal courts. A criminal court would examine your entire criminal history, but the CCP ultimately wants to determine whether you are fit to serve the public and continue practicing pharmacy. Prior criminal history is not considered unless it is related to pharmacy practice, drugs, medical devices, and, if applicable, medical fraud. The CCP’s primary concern is whether your ability to practice poses a risk to public health, whereas a prosecutor seeks the highest damages and charges relative to the allegations.
As a result, criminal defense attorneys may be highly skilled at negotiating with prosecutors and navigating criminal courts, but may not necessarily be able to translate this experience to professional licensing boards. You will want to hire a professional license defense attorney with experience negotiating with state pharmacy boards, who can represent Connecticut pharmacists, whether they’re close to New York or to Boston.
It can be intimidating to receive a strongly worded letter from a state pharmacy board or a notice that you have a hearing. No matter where you practice in the Constitution State, the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team will advocate for you and defend the pharmacist license you worked incredibly hard to earn. Contact the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or complete our online intake form to speak to one of our experienced professional license defense attorneys.