Securing a position as a pharmacist in the Dallas Fort Worth Metro Area (Metroplex) is no easy feat. The Metroplex is competitive, but you've worked countless hours to get here. When you learn that someone has reported you to the Texas or Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy, it's upsetting, to say the least. Whether the accusation is baseless or the result of a mistake doesn't matter. You deserve the best defense to protect your Metroplex pharmacist license and rights. Let the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team fight for you; call us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
Allegations That Can Threaten Your Metroplex Pharmacist License
Numerous behaviors or allegations of such can land Metroplex pharmacists in front of the Texas or Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy. Common allegations against Metroplex pharmacists include:
- Improperly handling or dispensing controlled substances
- Theft or attempted theft of prescription medications
- Making prescription errors that harm a patient
- Engaging in dishonest, fraudulent, or misleading conduct related to dispensing medication or medication counseling
- Maintaining or submitting false records
- Filling prescriptions that a reasonable pharmacist exercising professional judgment would not fill
- Knowingly dispensing a medication without a valid prescription
- Performing work duties under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Violating patient confidentiality
- Fabricating or falsifying research data
- Failing to adhere to Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs) or Good Clinical Practices (GCPs)
- Failing to report adverse effects or drug safety data
- Misrepresenting drug efficacy or safety
- Accepting bribes or kickbacks
Disciplinary Action Process for Pharmacist Misconduct in the Metroplex
You're a competent and educated individual. You may think you have the smarts and resources to address the complaint against you, especially if it's untrue or a misunderstanding. When you have been reported to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy of the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy for misconduct, you have a long road ahead.
Your State Board of Pharmacy isn't on your side, and your communication with them can be misconstrued. You need a Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team attorney in your corner from day one. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will walk you through the process, prepare you for all interactions with the Texas Board of Pharmacy, and work tirelessly to defend your Metroplex pharmacist license.
Your Lento Law Firm attorney will explain the disciplinary process to you in detail. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy disciplinary action process and the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy disciplinary action process are a bit different, but below is an overview of each:
Complaint
When the Texas or Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy receives a misconduct complaint against you, it will conduct a preliminary review to determine if it has jurisdiction to resolve the matter. The Oklahoma or Texas State Board of Pharmacy can handle the allegations discussed in the section above. Still, it isn't authorized to address pricing, billing, disputes, or customer service complaints.
Investigation
If your relevant State Board of Pharmacy has jurisdiction and the complaint is legitimate, it will open an investigation. An investigator will be assigned to your case. This person will be tasked with conducting interviews with you and other relevant parties and collecting evidence related to the allegations against you.
Negotiations
The investigation stage is an important phase in which your Lento Law Firm attorney will negotiate on your behalf. They will advocate having your case dropped or for the Oklahoma or Texas State Board of Pharmacy to minimize the action it takes against your license. A common outcome of our Professional License Defense Team attorneys negotiating with your relevant Board of Pharmacy is getting our pharmacist clients off with a verbal or written warning.
Informal Settlement Conference
Informal settlement conferences work differently depending on whether your case is before the Texas Board of Pharmacy or the Oklahoma Board of Pharmacy.
In the Texas State Board of Pharmacy disciplinary proceeding, the informal conference is another time in which your Lento Law Firm attorney will be able to negotiate a minimal action or dismissal be appropriate in your case. While the conference is considered informal, remember that anything you say could be misinterpreted or held against you. You should never attend an informal conference without consulting a Lento Law Firm attorney.
Participants at the conference will include a panel of two Texas Board of Pharmacy Staff members and two Board members. Sometimes, the person who filed the complaint against you will be present. At the informal conference, your Lento Law Firm attorney will present evidence on your behalf and mount a full defense. The panel will then propose a recommendation. You will consult with your Lento Law Firm attorney and decide if you are comfortable accepting the panel's recommendation. If you agree to the panel's recommendation, it will be presented before the full Texas Board of Pharmacy at its scheduled board meeting for approval.
If your case is before the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy, going to an informal hearing means you are admitting to the charges against you. Do not be fooled; if you attend, you are admitting guilt and cannot continue fighting the allegations. The informal settlement conference will serve as a venue for signing a consent order or settlement agreement.
Formal Hearing
If you are unable to resolve your case at the informal settlement conference in Texas, your case will be referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The formal hearing, called a contested administrative hearing, will be held before a state-appointed administrative law judge.
At the formal hearing, your Lento Law Firm attorney will once present a strong defense on your behalf. Cases before administrative law judges have specific deadlines, rules, evidence standards, and more outlined in state laws and regulations. It is important to have an attorney from our Professional License Defense Team handling your case at this juncture. Missing deadlines, incorrectly filing documents, and failing to follow the set procedures could result in adverse action being taken against you on a technicality.
When the hearing concludes, the administrative law judge will draft a finding of fact, a conclusion of law, and a proposed disciplinary action against your Metroplex pharmacist license if appropriate. These documents will be sent to the Texas Board of Pharmacy, which has the ultimate jurisdiction to agree with the judge. It may take the recommended action or choose an alternative action.
In Oklahoma, the State Board of Pharmacy will conduct a formal hearing before the Board itself. Formal hearings before the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy will have different rules and procedures than those before an administrative law judge in Texas. Fortunately, your Lento Law Firm attorney is well-versed in both states' formal hearing processes and will walk you through the nuances in your state.
Determinations
Ideally, your Lento Law Firm attorney will be able to resolve your case, which will result in dismissal or a verbal or written warning. These outcomes have no negative impact on your Metroplex pharmacist license and little, if any, impact on your employment or reputation.
Unfortunately, the above outcomes aren't always possible, especially in severe cases. The Texas and Oklahoma State Boards of Pharmacy can take various disciplinary actions against your Metroplex pharmacist license. Such sanctions against your license may include, but are not limited to:
- Public reprimand
- Mandatory continuing education
- Restitution
- Drug or alcohol treatment program requirement (if related to the misconduct allegations)
- Monetary penalties
- License suspension
- License revocation
Consequences of Disciplinary Action Against Your Metroplex Pharmacist License
The consequences of disciplinary action against your Metroplex pharmacist license will be widespread. With the help of the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team, hopefully, you can avoid a few of these implications.
Damage to Your Reputation and Employment
Pharmacists are trusted members of society whether they are in retail, hospital, academic, or research settings. Disciplinary action against your Metroplex license can result in immediate loss of employment. Action against your license can be widespread in both the pharmacist and your personal communities. While licensure suspension or revocation will undoubtedly impact your career prospects, family, friends, and others in your life may not hold their tongue on expressing disappointment in your behavior. Your personal life and standing in your community are also threatened when your professional takes a hit.
Reporting to the National Practitioner Data Bank
When the Texas or Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy takes disciplinary action against a Metroplex pharmacist, the action to their license must be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The NPBD compiles disciplinary actions taken against healthcare professionals throughout the country. The Texas and Oklahoma State Boards of Pharmacy are encouraged to report all disciplinary actions they take. Fortunately, NPDB isn't available to the public, but it doesn't need to be public to impact your career as a Metroplex pharmacist.
NPDB is viewable by all state pharmacy boards and registered healthcare organizations. This means that potential employers have access to NPDB reports, which can greatly impact their hiring decisions. State pharmacy boards in other states may also reference the NPDB when reviewing your application for licensure in their state and deny an applicant based on the disciplinary action taken against you in Texas or Oklahoma.
Appealing Disciplinary Action Against Your Metroplex Pharmacist License
If, at the end of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy's disciplinary action process, you have the right to an appeal, you find yourself with a negative action being taken against your Metroplex license. Appealing a Texas State Board of Pharmacy action requires filing a case with a Texas state court.
If an attorney up to this point hasn't represented you, you need to retain one immediately. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team attorneys are seasoned in pharmacy license appeal cases. We frequently join cases at the appeals stage and often get our Metroplex clients a more favorable outcome. At the Lento Law Firm, we know you are feeling defeated and exhausted, but you must keep fighting for your pharmacist license – you've worked too hard to give up now.
Who We Can Help in the Metroplex
Our Metroplex pharmacist clients come from all walks of life, from recent pharmacy grads at their first job to veteran pharmacists who have been on the job for decades. No one is immune from Texas Board of Pharmacy complaints. Our Professional License Defense Team has represented clients in all types of employment settings for Metroplex pharmacists. Our clients include pharmacists working in retail settings at pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Target, Chewy, and more.
Our pharmacist clients also come from some of the largest hospitals operating in the Metroplex, including Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Forth Worth, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, Cook's Children's Health Dallas, Dallas Regional Medical Center, and John Peter Smith Hospital.
The Lento Law Firm has also defended those working in research settings, whether private or academic. Our academic research pharmacists have been from schools like Texas Tech University Dallas Campus, Baylor University, and the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.
The Metroplex is known for its thriving biotech and pharmaceutical companies, which employ countless pharmacists throughout the area. Our Professional License Defense Team clients have worked at some of the most prestigious companies in the Metroplex, including Venturis Therapeutics, Alixa RX, Reata Pharmaceuticals, Cencora, ImmuneSensor Therapeutics, Chemical Information Services, Caddo Medical Technologies, and more.
The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team serve pharmacists throughout the Metroplex. We have represented clients in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Athens, Granbury, Corsicana, Gainesville, Sulphur Springs, Bonham, Mineral Wells, the Sherman-Denison area, and Durant on the Oklahoma side.
If You're a Metroplex Pharmacist Facing Misconduct Allegations, the Lento Law Firm Can Help
Don't let an allegation against your Metroplex pharmacist license derail your whole life and livelihood. Get the Lento Law Firm fighting for you. Our Professional License Defense Team will work tirelessly to preserve your license, career, and reputation. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
