The Atlanta Metropolitan Area has a rising demand for pharmacists. In 2021, there was a 25.3% increase in community pharmacy jobs, which doesn't even consider the jobs in the area's numerous pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The pharmacy profession in the Atlanta Metro Area and Georgia overall is lucrative, with average salaries exceeding $100,000 a year. The rewards of going through the extensive schooling and upfront costs to become a pharmacist in the Atlanta Metro Area can be well worth it. Still, misconduct allegations can derail the career you've worked so hard for.
If you're an Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist being accused of misconduct, the Lento Law Firm can help. Our Professional License Defense Team has represented countless pharmacists all over the Atlanta Metro Area, including Atlanta, Roswell, Gainesville, LaGrange, Jefferson, Rome, Cornelia, Cedartown, Thomaston, and Calhoun. Get the Lento Law Firm on your team today; call us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
Allegations That Can Threaten Your Atlanta Metro Area License
There are many actions or allegations of misconduct that can trigger a Georgia Board of Pharmacy investigation against you and your Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist license. The Georgia Board of Pharmacy holds pharmacists to high standards. As an Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist, you must follow all Georgia laws, including the pharmacist and non-pharmacy-related laws, the Georgia Pharmacy Practice Act, and all Georgia Board of Pharmacy Rules and Regulations.
Pharmacists in the Atlanta Metro Area have numerous employment options and can work in different settings, from retail to research. Depending on your type of employment, you may be more or less likely to be accused of misconduct. Common misconduct allegations our Professional License Defense Team sees with pharmacists working in retail pharmacies and healthcare settings include:
- Improperly handling controlled substances, including unlawfully distributing or for personal use
- Stealing or attempting to steal prescription medications
- Neglecting to take necessary precautions to prevent unauthorized access or distribution of controlled substances
- Making prescription mistakes that lead to patient harm or displaying a repeated pattern of such errors
- Engaging in dishonest, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive conduct related to dispensing medication or providing medical advice or medication counseling
- Creating, submitting, or maintaining false or fraudulent records
- Submitting false or deceptive billing reports
- Failing to offer counseling to patients when necessary, disregarding requests for counseling, or discouraging patients from receiving counseling about prescription medications
- Charging patients improperly for medications (e.g., billing for a brand-name drug while providing a generic alternative)
- Filling a prescription that a reasonable pharmacist exercising professional judgment would deem inaccurate or inauthentic (particularly prevalent related to opioids)
- Knowingly dispensing prescription medication without a valid prescription
- Dispensing or offering to dispense a drug that the FDA has not approved
- Performing pharmacy-related duties while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Violating patient or customer confidentiality
- Failing to report a disciplinary action, such as suspension or revocation of your pharmacist license in another state where you are licensed or applying for licensure
There are numerous Atlanta Metro Area pharmaceutical and biotech companies employing countless pharmacists. If you are working in research and development or academia, misconduct allegations look different than those for retail pharmacists. You are more likely to face accusations of the following:
- Fabricating or falsifying research data, such as manipulating clinical trial results or lab findings
- Failing to adhere to Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) or Good Clinical Practice (GCP), including not following FDA laws or regulatory guidelines
- Improperly handling or storage of medications
- Failure to report adverse events or drug safety data from regulatory agencies
- Misrepresenting drug efficacy or safety
- Accepting bribes or kickbacks to influence lab results, approvals, and more
- Failure to disclose conflicts of interest
- Conducting authorized clinical trials
- Intellectual property theft
Fortunately, the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is well-versed in representing pharmacist clients facing all types of misconduct. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will talk to you about the best strategy for approaching the misconduct you are being accused of, explain the most likely outcomes, and represent you through the entire Georgia Board of Pharmacy disciplinary action process.
Disciplinary Action Process for Pharmacist Misconduct in the Atlanta Metro Area
The Georgia Pharmacy Practice Act and Georgia Board of Pharmacy Regulations address how reported cases of pharmacist misconduct are handled in the Atlanta Metro Area and throughout the state. The disciplinary action process for Atlanta Metro Area pharmacists can be lengthy. It's a marathon, not a sprint, but your Lento Law Firm attorney will be by your side the entire time, ensuring you have the best defense and chance at an outcome that eliminates or reduces the sanctions against you. Here is a brief overview of the process.
Complaint and Investigation
While pharmacists can self-report and may, in some cases, be encouraged to, most complaints filed with the Georgia Board of Pharmacy come from an outside source, such as a colleague, patient, or friend or family of a patient. When the Georgia Board of Pharmacy receives a complaint, it does a preliminary review to see if the conduct alleged violates any laws or regulations under its jurisdiction and if the complaint is credible.
The Board will investigate all credible complaints, including interviewing you and other relevant parties, asking for you to submit a written explanation in response, collecting evidence from your employer and others, and more. If the investigation doesn't yield any substantiation that you committed misconduct, the case may be dropped. If not, you will proceed with a formal hearing.
Formal Hearing
An Administrative Law Judge will preside over your hearing. Hearing works like a trial, where your Lento Law Firm attorney and the Board of Pharmacy investigator will make their case using evidence and calling witnesses. You should never represent yourself in a formal hearing; there are set timelines, rules of evidence, and defense strategies that your Lento Law Firm attorney is familiar with and can address competently.
Determinations
The Administrative Law Judge will make their own finding and recommendation. The Board of Pharmacy will consider their findings and decide the appropriate disciplinary action, if any, is necessary. Actions that may be taken against you and your Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist license include:
- Letter of reprimand
- Probation
- Supervised practice
- Monetary fines
- Mandatory condition education courses or training
- Practice Restrictions
- Mandatory drug or alcohol treatment
- License suspension
- License revocation
Consequences of Disciplinary Action Against Your Atlanta Metro Area Pharmacist License
There are numerous negative impacts of disciplinary action against your Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist license that you should consider when deciding your next steps. At the Lento Law Firm, our Professional License Defense Team will do everything possible to mitigate the consequences of the allegations against you, ideally eliminating or reducing any sanctions against you.
Facing disciplinary action or firing at your place of employment is one possible outcome when the Georgia Board of Pharmacy issues sanctions against you for misconduct. Losing your current employment could be just the tip of the iceberg. When disciplinary action is taken against your Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist license, you could be facing the following consequences:
Reporting to the National Practitioner Data Bank
When the Georgia Board of Pharmacy takes formal action against your pharmacist license, it must report the action to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The NPBD is a national database that houses disciplinary actions taken against certain healthcare professionals, including pharmacists. While the NPDB isn't available to the public, registered healthcare organizations and state pharmacy boards can view pharmacists' NPDB reports.
When potential employers see that you have an NPDB report, they will think twice about hiring you. Undoubtedly, an NPDB report will impact your job search and opportunities. An NPDB report will also hinder your ability to get a pharmacy license in a different state, meaning that even if you want a fresh start outside of the Atlanta Metro Area, that may not be possible.
Investigations by Other State Pharmacy Boards
If you hold an active pharmacist license in another state, the Georgia Board of Pharmacy may also notify them. Under state law, in other states where you are licensed, you may also be required to self-report your disciplinary action. One way or the other, it's a real possibility that the other state board of pharmacy will open an investigation, and your pharmacist license in that state will also be on the line.
Exclusions from the Medicare and Medicaid Program
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can get involved when a pharmacist has disciplinary action taken against their license. While your license is issued in Georgia and you're practicing in the Atlanta Metro Area, HHS can impact your ability to practice nationally. HHS can remove pharmacists who commit serious misconduct from participating in the Medicare and Medicaid Programs and place them on the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE).
Being listed on the LEIE has a whole host of consequences. You will be prohibited by law from working in any setting that accepts government funding, both within the pharmacy field and in other fields. Any healthcare facility that accepts Medicare or Medicaid cannot employ you in any capacity, from pharmacist to kitchen staff.
Damage to Your Reputation and Personal Life
Our Professional License Defense Team understands what is at stake when you're a pharmacist accused of misconduct, especially in a competitive market like the Atlanta Metro Area. We know it isn't just your career and livelihood on the line; it's much more. Accusations of misconduct in the pharmacy profession can have ripple effects, like a damaged reputation in your community or even with friends and family. Getting the best possible outcome in your case before the Georgia Board of Pharmacy can help preserve your career, reputation, financial stability, and personal life.
Appealing Disciplinary Action Against Your Atlanta Metro Area Pharmacist License
Going through the Georgia Board of Pharmacy disciplinary action process is exhausting, to say the least. If serious action was taken against your Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist license, it is understandable that you may feel defeated and want to put this entire experience behind you. These feelings are normal, but now isn't the time to stop fighting. Everything you have worked for is on the line, and you don't have to accept an adverse outcome – you may be entitled to appeal.
If you're eligible to appeal your case, you should fight for a better outcome in your case. Our Professional License Defense Team frequently gets our clients more favorable outcomes on appeal. Maybe you weren't represented by an attorney during the disciplinary action process, or your attorney wasn't experienced in the Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist license defense. Regardless of how you have gotten to this point, the Lento Law Firm can help you through the appeals process.
Who We Can Help in the Atlanta Metro Area
The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has represented Atlanta Metro Area pharmacists working in various settings. Many of our clients work in traditional retail pharmacies, from large chains like CVS and Walgreens to family-owned pharmacies. We have also represented pharmacists in some of the Atlanta Metro Area's largest healthcare systems. These healthcare systems include Piedmont Healthcare System, Emory Healthcare System, Northside Hospital System, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (often called Central State Hospital System), Grady Health System, WellStar Health System, and Tanner Health System.
As you likely know, the Atlanta Metro Area is a hub for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. There are huge employers of pharmacists in the area. Our Professional License Defense Team has also fought for numerous pharmacists working in these settings. Our clients have come from some of the largest pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the Atlanta Metro Area, including Alcon, Roche, Peachtree Bioresearch Solutions, UCB, Boehringer Ingelheim, Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Lumistry, Wuxi AppTec, Arbor Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson, among many more.
If You're an Atlanta Metro Area Pharmacist Facing Misconduct Allegations, the Lento Law Firm Can Help
Whether the allegations against you and your Atlanta Metro Area pharmacist license result from a miscommunication or a mistake, you deserve the best possible defense. Your reputation and livelihood are on the line; don't fight this battle alone. The seasoned attorneys at the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team are in your corner; our top priority is protecting your pharmacist license. Get started with us today by calling 888-535-3686 or contacting us online.
