There are thousands of physicians of various specialties working in the greater Charlotte area. If you are one of them, you know exactly how hard you have worked to get to where you are today. Decades of learning, followed by years of practical training and many, many hours studying for – and passing – the exams required for you to earn your medical license, all add up to a huge investment of a large portion of your life in the license that allows you to practice medicine.
That is why it is so important that you take active steps to defend yourself if you have been accused of professional misconduct. When you receive a notification from the North Carolina Medical Board (or the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, if you are licensed in South Carolina) that someone has filed a misconduct complaint against you, the sooner you get help, the better off you’re likely to be. By reaching out to the experienced attorneys at the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team, you can quickly have someone on your side who knows how to protect your rights in this kind of situation. Call us at 888.535.3686 or reach out online, and we will schedule a confidential consultation so we can learn more about your case – and can explain how we can help.
Physicians in Greater Charlotte
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 3000 physicians working in the Greater Charlotte area, not only in Charlotte itself, but in nearby cities such as Gastonia, Concord, Rock Hill (South Carolina), Indian Trail, and others. And as you probably know, if you’re a practicing physician, the profession can pay very well. The BLS puts the annual median wage for physicians in Greater Charlotte at well over $300,000. While it’s great to be earning such a substantial income, it also means that if you are no longer able to practice medicine because you’ve been disciplined by the Medical Board, you will probably have a very difficult time finding another job that will pay as well.
This is why you need to pay close attention if you receive a notice from the North Carolina Medical Board or South Carolina’s Board of Medical Examiners (depending on which state you’re licensed) that someone has filed misconduct allegations against you. Taking active steps early on to retain an experienced attorney who has been through this kind of thing before can make a significant difference in the outcome. In short, when your license, your reputation, and your livelihood are all on the line, you should take steps to protect them all at your first opportunity.
Disciplinary Actions Against Physicians in Greater Charlotte
Depending on where you are licensed, the North Carolina Medical Board or the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners will be the enforcement body that will accept, investigate, and resolve misconduct complaints in Greater Charlotte. In some cases, if you’re licensed in both North and South Carolina, you may find yourself facing discipline from both boards at the same time.
The types of misconduct that can result in physicians facing disciplinary sanctions include the following:
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Practicing medicine while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
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Failing to follow applicable standards of patient care
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Being convicted or even accused of a crime
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Deceiving the Board in connection with any part of the licensing process
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Failing to complete the required continuing education
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Being disciplined by another state’s medical licensing board
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Improperly dispensing or prescribing drugs
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Disclosing patient confidential information to anyone who is not entitled to have it
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Keeping inaccurate or incomplete medical records
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Refusing to cooperate with any board investigation or discipline process
Misconduct complaints can come from anyone – a patient, of course, but also the patient’s family members or friends; co-workers or supervisors; and even members of the public who have no direct connection with the physician but believe that the physician may have committed misconduct.
That said, medical boards do not have unfettered jurisdiction to investigate every complaint that comes in over the Internet or otherwise. Their focus is on alleged misconduct that could affect the safety of members of the public. This focus is set by statute, and that means that the boards can only investigate certain types of misconduct allegations.
For example, neither North Carolina’s nor South Carolina’s medical board is likely to investigate a billing dispute when there is no claim that the physician defrauded the patient. Nor are they likely to investigate allegations that the physician or a member of their staff spoke rudely to a patient. But if a complaint alleges that the physician engaged in the kinds of misconduct that the board regulates, it will likely open an investigation to explore the matter further.
A board investigation can take a long time – months, even. It can be a period of almost constant stress, especially if you are trying to deal with it by yourself. On top of everything else you must take care of to practice medicine and have a life, you also need to worry about responding to information requests – within the time period set by the board – and scheduling and sitting for detailed interviews with the investigator.
While working with an experienced professional license defense attorney from the LLF National Law Firm won’t take all of the stress away, it will help a lot. When we are working with you, we can guide you through the process and can review and respond to the investigator’s requests. We’ll also make sure you cooperate appropriately with the investigation, so that the board does not have grounds to accuse you of failing to do so.
Help During Disciplinary Investigations
You have spent years learning all you need to know to be able to practice medicine. But one thing you did not learn along the way was how to respond when you are across a conference room table from someone whose job it is to uncover evidence concerning misconduct allegations made against you. As stressful as your job as a physician may be, this is a different kind of stress – a kind of stress that you are not used to dealing with.
Fortunately, there are ways to learn how to respond to interview questions in these kinds of stressful cases. If you are working with one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team, we can prepare you for your interview with the investigator. We can go over how to listen to questions, make sure you understand them, and then focus your answer on what you were asked. You can learn not to answer questions that aren’t clear or that you don’t understand – instead, ask for clarification before you provide your response.
We can also be there with you during the interview, acting as your backup in case you don’t catch an unclear or unfair question. Our goal in these situations is to make sure the record is as clear as possible; that you provide clear, direct answers to clear, fair questions.
We can help in other ways during the investigation. You will typically be asked to provide a response to the complaint that was filed against you; we can help you prepare a complete and effective one and make sure it is sent to the board on time. If you’re asked for documents or records, we can help gather the proper information and provide it to the board’s investigator within the requested time frame – or ask for an extension where necessary.
We can also be your main point of contact with the board and the investigator; we will field their emails and phone calls so that you don’t have to. All of this frees your time so that you can focus on your practice, while we focus on your defense. And in some cases, we may conduct our own investigation, especially if we believe the board’s investigator failed to uncover information that could help your defense.
After the Investigation
The board will review the results of the investigation and will make a decision whether to bring formal charges against the physician or, in some cases, dismiss the matter. In some cases, the board will decide to impose a form of private discipline, which typically does not affect the physician’s license and is not disclosed to the public (but which may be kept in the physician’s file in case there are future complaints). In other cases, the board will decide to take formal action against the physician.
When that happens, in most cases, the matter can be resolved through negotiation. This is when it can be particularly helpful to have an experienced member of the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team on your side. We regularly represent clients accused of professional misconduct all across the country, including in Greater Charlotte, and we know the kinds of concerns that the board will have if it has accused you of misconduct. We will use our experience to fiercely and fairly negotiate as favorable an outcome as possible. Our unwavering goal in license discipline cases is to keep your medical license active so that you can continue to serve the people of your community.
Formal Hearings
Most cases are resolved through negotiation. Those that aren’t will proceed to a formal hearing. You have certain rights during the hearing process. In North Carolina, for example, you will receive a written notice of the charges made against you, and you will have 30 days to file a written answer to those charges.
North Carolina also gives you at least 30 days’ advance notice before the hearing date. You have the right to appear at the hearing in person and to have an attorney with you. You – or better, your attorney – will be able to cross-examine any witnesses who appear to testify against you. You will also be able to appear and testify on your own behalf and to call your own witnesses.
The hearing will proceed very much like a trial, and will be before members of the North Carolina Medical Board or the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, as appropriate. Once the hearing is complete, the board will issue a decision – this will typically be some time after the end of the hearing. The decision will provide the facts on which it is based and any disciplinary action to be imposed on the physician.
Potential Outcomes
The board may dismiss the matter after the hearing if it does not believe the evidence produced at the hearing supports disciplining the physician. Other outcomes are not as favorable to the physician and include:
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Probation, with or without specific conditions that the physician must meet
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Limitations on the physician’s ability to practice medicine
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A public reprimand
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A fine
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A public letter of concern
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A requirement that the physician perform public service, in particular, by providing free medical services
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A requirement that the physician complete certain educational programs
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A requirement that the physician complete substance abuse treatment
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Suspension of the physician’s license
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Revocation of the physician’s license
Again, our focus when we represent a physician who is facing misconduct allegations is to protect their license and their ability to practice medicine. This focus, combined with our experience, can result in a much more favorable outcome than if the physician had attempted to defend themselves or worked with an attorney who lacks our experience with these kinds of cases.
The LLF National Law Firm Can Defend Your Medical License in Greater Charlotte
No matter where you practice medicine in Greater Charlotte – Huntersville, Kannapolis, Monroe, Mooresville, Hickory, or any of the many other cities and towns in the area – if you are accused of misconduct, you need to mount a strong defense. The best way to do that is to work with an attorney who has provided this kind of defense before. That’s where the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team comes in.
Our attorneys regularly represent medical and other professionals who have been accused of misconduct in North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as all across the country. We know the laws, regulations, and procedures that apply in disciplinary investigations and proceedings. We will protect your rights from day one and fight to defend you against the allegations you are facing.
Your medical license is probably your most valuable personal asset. It makes sense to defend that asset the best way possible – by contacting the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team the moment you learn you’ve been accused of misconduct. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or complete our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation where you can tell us about your case, and we can explain how we will help.