As a pharmacist, you are trusted with the health and safety of countless patients in the Houston Metro Area (Greater Houston). Whether you're working in retail or research, your actions matter, and the Texas State Board of Pharmacy will investigate any misconduct allegations.
At the Lento Law Firm, we know that misconduct can often result from a mistake or miscommunication. But you've worked too hard to get where you are to let the Texas State Board of Pharmacy take action against you without putting up a fight. Our Professional License Defense Team will go into battle for you and your Greater Houston pharmacist license. Call us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today.
Allegations That Can Threaten Your Greater Houston Pharmacist License
Any violation of the Texas Pharmacy Act and other laws and regulations governing pharmacists can get you in trouble. These laws and regulations cover everything from administrative procedures to patient care. The most common misconduct we see our Greater Houston clients accused of 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 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
While some offenses may not seem like a big deal, violating Greater Houston pharmacy laws and regulations can land you in hot water. No allegation is too small to get professional help from the Lento Law Firm. You can never guarantee that what sounds like a minor infraction isn't grounds for sanctions against your license before the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.
Disciplinary Action Process for Pharmacist Conduct in Greater Houston
Especially if the allegations against you are baseless, you may think that addressing the misconduct allegations against you and your Greater Houston pharmacist license will be quick and simple. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case. Any accusations against you threaten your license and career in Greater Houston and must be taken seriously.
The Texas State Board of Pharmacy disciplinary action process can be long and exhausting. You need someone in your corner every step of the way. At the Lento Law Firm, we explain the entire process to you, represent you before the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, and work tirelessly to get you the best possible outcome. While we will talk through the process in detail during your consultation, here is a brief overview of the process.
Complaint
Disciplinary action against your Great Houston pharmacist license generally begins with someone filing a complaint with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. While complaints can't be filed anonymously, anyone can. Most often, complaints are filed by colleagues, patients, or a patient's family or friends. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy takes all allegations of Greater Houston pharmacist misconduct in the state of Texas seriously and responds to all complaints with at least a preliminary review.
When conducting a preliminary review, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy will determine if it has jurisdiction to address the matter. It has jurisdiction over violations of the Texas Pharmacy Act, pharmacist regulations, and Texas State Board of Pharmacy policies and procedures. Customer service or billing complaints are outside the Board's purview and will be automatically dismissed.
When a complaint falls within the Texas State Board of Pharmacy's authority and is credible, it will be assigned to an investigator and opened for a full investigation.
Investigation
During the investigation, your assigned investigator will interview you, others with knowledge of the situation, your employer, and any other people they believe could provide helpful information to understand your case. They will also collect evidence related to the case, such as videos, photos, employment records, etc.
Negotiations
The investigative phase is no time to sit around and wait to see how things unfold. This is a prime time for the Lento Law Firm attorney to negotiate with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. The Lento Law Firm attorney will be aiming to find a solution that preserves your Greater Houston pharmacist license, limits or eliminates the sanctions against you, and prevents your case from going through the full disciplinary action process.
Negotiating with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy is an art, but fortunately, our Professional License Defense Team is experienced in negotiating with the Board. At the Lento Law Firm, we often manage to get our Greater Houston pharmacist clients off with a verbal or written warning instead of disciplinary action to their licenses.
Informal Settlement Conference
Towards or at the end of the investigative stage, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy will likely request you attend an informal conference. A four-person panel will conduct the informal conference – two Texas State Board of Pharmacy staff members and two Board members. In some situations, the person who filed the complaint against you may be present, but that isn't always the case. The Lento Law Firm attorney can let you know if you can expect the complainant to attend your informal conference based on the facts of your case.
Just because it's called an informal conference doesn't mean you shouldn't take it seriously. You should also not be under the impression the Board won't take formal disciplinary action against your license. Keep in mind at every juncture that the Texas State Board of Pharmacy isn't there to protect your pharmacist license; it's there to protect the public health and safety of Greater Houston patients. You can't trust that you will go to the informal conference and that they will hear or accept your version of events.
It's crucial that you do not attend an informal conference without the Lento Law Firm attorney. The informal conference is your last opportunity to avoid the excruciating formal disciplinary action process and negotiate a mutually beneficial outcome. During this meeting, it's important to present a strong defense without seeming hostile or falling for any tricks.
Our Professional License Defense Team will facilitate open and calm communication throughout the conference. This approach should lead to an outcome that protects your Great Houston pharmacist license and addresses the Texas State Board of Pharmacy's concerns.
Formal Hearing
Unfortunately, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy won't always be amenable to a solution you feel comfortable with, and you will need to move forward with a formal hearing. Greater Houston pharmacist misconduct formal hearings are referred to the Texas Office of Administrative Hearings. That office will assign an administrative law judge (ALJ) to your case.
Administrative hearings work similarly to court cases. State laws and regulations outline the rules for how they are conducted, what evidence is admissible, what documents must be filed with the judge, and other policies and procedures. If you haven't retained the Lento Law Firm and you have a formal hearing scheduled, call our Professional License Defense Team immediately. Failing to follow the policies and procedures can have real consequences. The Lento Law Firm attorney is well-versed in administrative hearings in Greater Houston and will ensure an effective defense is mounted on your behalf in compliance with all laws and regulations.
Determinations
You won't get an answer about the outcome of your case on the same day as your hearing. The process isn't over yet. The ALJ will take time to deliberate and review your case. They will then draft a finding of fact, a conclusion of the law, and a proposal for what, if any, disciplinary action is appropriate to take against your Great Houston pharmacist license. Once these documents are completed, the ALJ will send them to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.
The Texas State Board of Pharmacy ultimately gets to decide the outcome of your case. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy often accepts the ALJ's recommendation, but they don't have to. The ALJ's recommendation will be discussed at the regularly scheduled Texas State Board of Pharmacy meeting, and it will then decide what action to take.
When the Texas State Board of Pharmacy decides your misconduct was severe enough to warrant disciplinary action, it can take a few different actions. Common Texas State Board of Pharmacy disciplinary actions include:
- 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 Greater Houston Pharmacist License
There is no shortage of consequences that accompany the Texas State Board of Pharmacy action against your Greater Houston pharmacist license. Even when, in theory, sanctions against your pharmacist license should only impact your professional life, your personal life frequently gets caught in the crosshairs. Disciplinary action against your Greater Houston pharmacist license can add stress to any relationship, particularly with your significant other, children, and close family or friends.
Getting through the disciplinary action process with all relationships still intact is a gift. Still, when sanctions have been taken against your license, that luck won't extend to your professional life. Any time the Texas State Board of Pharmacy takes disciplinary action against a Greater Houston pharmacist and their license, it should report the pharmacist to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). While the NPDB isn't public, important people can access registered healthcare organizations and all U.S. state pharmacy boards. That means future employers can view your NPDB misconduct report and make biased hiring decisions.
If you decide that you want to start over and seek employment in a new state, you will also run into problems. Any state pharmacy board you apply to may look to NPDB to ensure you have been truthful on your pharmacist license application in their state about disciplinary action taken against your license in Greater Houston.
Appealing Disciplinary Action Against Your Greater Houston Pharmacist License
If the Texas State Board of Pharmacy took disciplinary action against your Greater Houston pharmacy license, it is worth at least considering an appeal. At the Lento Law Firm, we don't believe one mistake should derail the entire career and life you have built in Greater Houston. Keep fighting for your license – our Professional License Defense Team can often get our clients better outcomes on a pharmacy license appeal.
Who We Can Help in Greater Houston
No two of our Greater Houston pharmacist clients look the same. From just starting out in the field to those reaching retirement, regardless of career stage or setting, we've guided countless Greater Houston pharmacist clients through the disciplinary action process. Even the most experienced pharmacists can find themselves subject to a Texas State Board of Pharmacy complaint and investigation.
Many Lento Law Firm Greater Houston clients work at large retail pharmacies, including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Target. However, retail pharmacies are hardly the only setting where our clients work. A variety of our Greater Houston clients work in some of the largest hospitals and healthcare systems in the area, including Memorial Hermann Health System, HCA Houston Healthcare, Houston Methodist, St. Luke's, and Texas Children's Hospital.
Biotech and pharmaceutical companies are also large employers of Greater Houston pharmacists. The Lento Law Firm has represented pharmacists working for these companies, including Westlake Chemical Corporation, Alcon, Merit Medical Systems, Abbvie, Cencora, and Eli Lilly.
While most of our clients are based in Houston, the Lento Law Firm has represented clients throughout Greater Houston, including Pasadena, the Woodlands, Huntsville, El Campo, Bay City, and Brenham. Wherever you are in Greater Houston, we can help.
Fight for Your Greater Houston Pharmacist License with the Lento Law Firm
Allegations of misconduct can end your career in Greater Houston, but the Lento Law Firm will fight vigorously for you and your license. When your career, livelihood, and reputation are on the line, you need our Professional License Defense Team. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
