Physical therapy is as rewarding for the practitioner as it is for the patient, and the profession is held in high esteem throughout Iowa. These highly skilled professionals help Iowans recover from serious injuries through painstaking work that combines skill, medical ethics, and dedication. Because their work is so important, Iowa has a rigorous licensing and oversight system for physical therapists. However, that also means losing your license jeopardizes your career and reputation.
Are you a licensed Iowa physical therapist being investigated for misconduct or violating the rules of your profession? Iowa requires its physical therapists to maintain high professional and ethical standards in all aspects of their lives. An adverse outcome to a license investigation could cost your career if you don't take decisive action to fight for it. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888.535.3686 or contact us online.
How Iowa Regulates Physical Therapists
Every profession requiring a license in Iowa is subject to the Iowa Administrative Procedure Act. The Iowa Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy enforces the act and oversees the state's licensed physical therapists. The board's responsibilities and powers include:
- Administration of the licensing process (e.g., application processing, grading licensing exams, conducting background checks)
- Granting new licenses and license renewals
- Day-to-day enforcement of the Administrative Procedure Act, with the authority to add new rules the Board deems necessary
- Investigating suspected violations of the Administrative Procedure Act
- Holding hearings and adjudicating complaints against licensed physical therapists
- Disciplining or sanctioning physical therapists who violate the Administrative Procedures Act
- Negotiating consent agreements with therapists who violate the Administrative Procedure Act (at the Board's discretion)
The Board Serves As Investigator, Judge, and Jury
Although you have due process in cases of suspected violations, these rights differ significantly from a criminal or civil case. First, there is the Board's three-pronged role in the complaint process. They will receive the complaint, investigate it, and hand down discipline if they believe a violation has occurred. Even if you contest the case and there is a formal hearing, the jury will be Board members or appointees.
That means handling the Board during an investigation requires a high level of skill and experience. The Board's priority will be protecting public health, not your career. With that in mind, they may be inclined to rule against you in closely contested cases with unclear fact patterns. However, the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has decades of experience winning close cases and defending licensees.
Our Professional License Defense Team Knows How to Win Cases
We recognize that the Board is trying to ascertain two things in every case. First, they want to figure out if you've violated the Administrative Rules or the Iowa Code regarding physical therapy. Second, they want to figure out if you remaining licensed poses a threat to the public. You see, it's more than merely a question of guilt or innocence.
Our team focuses on addressing the Board's primary concerns. First, we will investigate the charges and evidence against you and subject them to the same level of scrutiny the Board applies to your conduct. We conduct an independent investigation of the allegations to uncover any inconsistencies or hidden motivations behind the complaint. If we find them, we will present them to the Board.
Second, we will build the strongest possible case for why you should be allowed to keep your license, even if the Board does rule that a violation has occurred. The Board realizes that even licensed therapists make mistakes, but our team can help you demonstrate to the Board that it was a one-time occurrence and that you're not a danger to Iowa citizens.
Common Types of Professional Violations and Complaints
Physical therapists are expected to improve client conditions and medical outcomes by relying on their experience and educational background. Accordingly, any case where a patient alleges you have made their condition worse through negligence or incompetence could be grounds for them to file a complaint. However, there is a gray area here because physical therapy clients are already suffering to some degree. Nevertheless, allegations of negligence or incompetence are not uncommon from disgruntled clients.
In many cases, the root of their frustration could be an inability to return to their pre-injury physical capabilities. Our team can help you show the board that you've performed your duties professionally and competently in these types of allegations. Aside from that, some other common causes for complaints include:
- Fraudulent activity (e.g., running a physical therapy mill, Medicare fraud)
- Working while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance
- Improper or inadequate supervision of physical therapy assistants
- Conduct unbecoming of a licensed professional (e.g., verbally abusive toward staff and/or clients)
- Ethical violations (e.g., over-promising physical therapy outcomes, false advertising, stealing clients from other licensed therapists)
- Practicing with an expired or invalid license
- Having another professional license that you hold (inside or outside Iowa) sanctioned, suspended, or revoked
Off-the-Job Conduct Can Also Result in Sanctions
Iowa views holding a professional license as a privilege and not a right. It also expects all of its professional licensees to observe high standards of behavior when they're not practicing. That means your conduct off the job could lead to investigation and sanctions if it endangers the public or gives the Board reason to believe you are a potential danger to your clients. Examples of off-the-job conduct that can result in sanctions include:
- Being convicted of a felony offense (in any jurisdiction, inside or outside of Iowa)
- Misdemeanor convictions that reflect poorly on your judgment or indicate you may be a danger to the public (e.g., possession of controlled substances, driving while intoxicated)
- Convictions for crimes involving violence
- Failing to report criminal convictions or other license sanctions to the Board
Self-Reporting Violations and License Sanctions
Your initial license application and your license renewal application both include sections that ask you to name any criminal convictions or license sanctions that you've received inside or outside of Iowa. The renewal application will specifically ask you to list any convictions that occurred since your last license renewal. Failure to self-report may be considered as misrepresenting information on your application.
This can lead to sanctions even if the Board does not discipline you for the conviction or license discipline you failed to report. Remember, the board can conduct criminal background checks during the application or renewal process. Any license discipline or criminal convictions will be matters of public record and easily discoverable by the Board. So, you are always better off self-reporting and doing so promptly after a conviction or license sanction.
We Can Help You Self-Report
With that said, we advise contacting the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team before you self-report any convictions or license sanctions. The Board will almost certainly want clarification about the circumstances that led to the legal action. It has the right to use any information you provide in considering whether further discipline is warranted. Let us review the totality of the circumstances and formulate a plan for how to proceed.
There is a way to be fully forthcoming with the Board without exposing yourself to additional sanctions. In either case, the mere fact that being convicted or having license sanctions could precipitate Board discipline is a good reason to contract with professional license defense. You may be facing additional sanctions, and the earlier you have our Professional License Defense Team working for you, the more we can do to help.
Potential Board Punishments and Lasting Consequences
The Board has the power to suspend or revoke your physical therapist license. That would leave you incapable of practicing your profession, an outcome that could hurt your finances in the short and long term. For example, even a 90-day suspension might leave you unable to pay your mortgage or car note on time. This could negatively impact your credit and cause you to pay higher interest rates for years.
A license revocation will have even more severe consequences. However, those are not the only potential pitfalls. Since the Board is a public agency, any disciplinary action against a licensee becomes a matter of public record. Anyone interested in contracting your services can perform a license look-up on the Board website, and your entire disciplinary history will be revealed.
This information doesn't just fall off your record after seven years like an entry in a credit report. It will always be connected to your license, meaning one sanction could leave you explaining a misunderstanding to potential clients or employers for the rest of your career. There is also the issue of liability insurance to consider. License discipline will likely lead insurers to increase their premiums and deductibles.
You Have the Right to a Hearing
Although the Administrative Code grants the Board the power to suspend or revoke your license, it's important to realize that power is not absolute. The Administrative Code gives you the right to a hearing before the Board takes your license away. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can help you prepare for your hearing and build the strongest case possible in your favor.
You have the right to cross-examine any witness or evidence against you, but doing this effectively requires skill and experience. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Team has decades of experience helping licensees navigate the hearing process, and we can do it for you. We will carefully examine all the Board investigator's evidence against you and highlight any inconsistencies or inaccuracies at your hearing.
That's why the discovery process is so vitally important. We may uncover evidence that weakens the case against you to such an extent that it becomes unwinnable for the board. However, there is a specific process to request that evidence or information. If your discovery request is not made in a timely fashion or doesn't comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, the Board may not honor it.
That won't happen when we are representing you. We will manage the entire investigation and hearing process for you. That includes everything from procedural requirements to filing dates and witness preparation. We won't leave anything to chance in our push to maximize your chances of emerging from the hearing process with your license intact. More importantly, we have experience and a long track record of success.
Other Potential Resolutions to Investigations
The hearing process can be difficult and expensive for both you and the Board. That's why it may be possible in some cases to negotiate an informal settlement, an option that the Administrative Procedure Act actively endorses. These agreements will generally allow you to continue practicing your profession by stipulating a set of conditions that we negotiate with the Board.
It's also important to know our commitment to you doesn't end with the Board's ruling after a contested hearing. You still have the right to request a rehearing to any adverse decision from the Board within 20 days of their ruling. If we are still unhappy with that result, our team can also move the case into the public courts for judicial review. We can help you through all of these procedures while making a compelling case in your favor.
We Want to Help You Fight for Your License
It takes countless hours of preparation and study to get your Iowa physical therapist license, and it can all be taken away from you in a Board investigation. Although it may be frightening to face the Board, we want you to know you don't have to face them alone. In fact, you probably shouldn't. Let the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team help you through this process.
The quality of your license defense can make all the difference in the world. We are as dedicated to license defense as you are to physical therapy. Our team is passionate about working toward the best possible outcome for our clients. We want to help you fight for the license you worked so hard to get. Put our team to work for you in your hour of need. Call us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
