If you are working as a pharmacist in Central Arkansas, in or around Little Rock, you know how hard you’ve worked to earn your Arkansas pharmacist license and gain the experience you need to be able to practice pharmacy. Think about the thousands of hours it took you to earn your degrees; to gain the practical experience necessary for your license; and to study for, take, and, of course, pass the NAPLEX and MPJE exams. And let’s not forget the continuing education requirements the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy requires you to take in order to renew your license every two years.
You’ve invested much of your life in being able to practice pharmacy. That’s why it is so important that you defend yourself if someone has accused you of misconduct. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team knows how to protect your rights and defend you if you are facing a misconduct investigation or have been charged with misconduct by the Board of Pharmacy. Call us today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our online contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation so you can tell us about the allegations made against you, and we can explain how we can help.
Pharmacists in Central Arkansas
According to the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy, there are more than 7000 licensed pharmacists in Arkansas. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says that roughly 1000 of them live and work in Little Rock and the surrounding area, including in towns such as Conway, North Little Rock, Benton, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot, and Bryant. When the average salary for a pharmacist in the area – almost $124,000 per year – is combined with the area’s significantly lower cost of living than the US average, a pharmacist working in Central Arkansas can live quite well.
Pharmacists in the Little Rock area work in a variety of locations, including, of course, national chain pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, and Walmart, as well as a number of small chain pharmacies and independents. Pharmacists may also be employed by area hospitals and care homes. When it comes to pharmacists who work in a retail setting, this means that customers often can choose one pharmacy over another. This can be important when it comes to discipline by the Board of Pharmacy.
Customers who learn that the Board has disciplined a pharmacist for misconduct may choose to take their business to one of the Little Rock area’s many other pharmacies. And you don’t have to be suspended for Board discipline to come to the attention of the public. The Board maintains an online search tool that will tell the public that you have been disciplined even if your license is not suspended or revoked. In addition, the public minutes of the Board’s meetings may disclose some details about your disciplinary matter, as well as any decisions of the Board concerning that matter.
This is why it is important to take it seriously if someone has filed a complaint with the Board accusing you of misconduct, or if the Board notifies you that you are being investigated for alleged misconduct. The best way to make sure that you protect your rights and are defended against these kinds of allegations is to work with an experienced attorney – and not just any attorney. When you work with the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team, you get the benefit of the years of experience that our dedicated attorneys have earned protecting the rights of other professional licensees all across Arkansas.
No matter where you work in the Little Rock area – be it Little Rock itself, across the Arkansas River in North Little Rock, or nearby towns like Bryant, Shannon Hills, Sherwood, Hensley, Redfield, or anywhere else in Central Arkansas – the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team is ready to help you. With disciplinary investigations often lasting for months on end, it can be enormously helpful to know that you have someone on your side who has been through this before, and not just once, but multiple times.
Your attorney will be able to keep you informed about what is going on with your case; prepare you for any interview you may be asked to sit for with the Board’s investigator; make sure you meet all deadlines imposed by the Board during the process; work with you to prepare any written submissions that may be needed in your case; and make sure that you are meeting your obligation to cooperate with the Board. In some cases, we may conduct our own investigation into the matter to uncover evidence helpful to your defense that the Board’s investigator either missed or decided not to include in their report to the Board.
Disciplinary Actions Against Pharmacists in Central Arkansas
The Arkansas Board of Pharmacy will discipline pharmacists for many different reasons. Some of these include:
- Failing to satisfy the continuing education requirement, particularly when the pharmacist represents that they have done so
- Buying, selling, or dispensing drugs in violation of the law
- Being addicted to drugs or alcohol, or practicing pharmacy while under the influence of either
- Being found guilty, or pleading guilty or no contest to certain types of felonies, including ones involving an act of “gross immorality”
- Adulterating drugs that the pharmacist offered for sale
- Engaging in unprofessional conduct
- Being disciplined by another state’s Board of Pharmacy
- Violating one of the many laws and regulations that licensed pharmacists and pharmacies must follow
- Improperly soliciting business from doctors and others who are licensed to prescribe medications, in particular by distributing prescription forms with the pharmacy information pre-printed on the form
- Disclosing a customer’s confidential information to someone who has no legal right to that information
- Providing discounts or rebates to some but not all patients during any given time period, with senior citizen discounts excepted
- Selling alcoholic beverages while “on duty” as a pharmacist
The Board has broad power to discipline pharmacists based on consumer complaints or pharmacy inspections. And the consumer complaints can come from anybody. The Board maintains an online Complaint Form that anyone can fill out and submit to the Board for review. (Complaints can also be mailed in or submitted by email.) In addition to customer complaints, the Board may receive complaints from employees, co-workers, or even relatives who may be concerned about the pharmacist’s conduct at work.
When the Board receives a complaint about a pharmacist, it will review it to make sure that the Board has the power to discipline the pharmacist for the alleged misconduct. For example, a complaint that alleges that a pharmacist was rude to a customer, without more, will normally not lead to an investigation against the pharmacist.
When the complaint does allege the kinds of misconduct that the Board regulates, it will normally be assigned to an investigator whose task it is to look into the situation and gather information that the Board can use to determine whether the pharmacist should be disciplined. This will usually include an interview with the person who filed the complaint, as well as with the accused pharmacist. It may also include interviews with the pharmacist’s colleagues and a review of business records relating to the matter. Investigations will, of course, be different depending on the type of misconduct that is alleged and the circumstances of that alleged misconduct.
It can be very helpful to have an experienced attorney from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team on your side during this process. We can keep you informed as to what is happening and be there for you to answer your questions and protect your rights throughout the investigation process.
Help During Disciplinary Investigations
Imagine sitting across the table from someone whose job it is to ask you questions about misconduct allegations that have been made against you. It is not a situation that you are likely to be familiar with, and it may be one of the most stressful experiences you have ever been through. It is possible to reduce the stress level, however, by preparing in advance so you know what to expect.
When you work with the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team, we can explain how the interview process works before you meet with the Board’s investigator. We can even put you through practice sessions so that you can experience what it is likely to be like. What’s more, we can be there with you when the investigator is questioning you. This allows us to also listen to the questions, help clarify any that are confusing, and make sure that you understand what you’re being asked before you give your answer. Providing clear, understandable answers to fair questions can help make sure that the Board doesn’t take action against you based on a false or unclear understanding of the facts.
In addition to helping you with the interview process, your attorney can – as we noted above – conduct their own investigation in cases where doing so may be appropriate. We can also be an important buffer between you and the Board in connection with the entire disciplinary process, with the Board’s communications concerning your case coming to us instead of (or in addition to) them going directly to you. This allows us to make sure that you meet any deadlines the Board may set, and to review the communications with you so that you understand what they mean and what effect they may have on your case.
After the Investigation
When the investigator has completed the investigation, the Board will review the investigator’s findings to determine whether the pharmacist should be charged with misconduct. In some cases, the Board will decide that there is not enough evidence of misconduct and will dismiss the matter.
If the Board decides that the pharmacist should be disciplined, it will send the pharmacist a notice to appear before the Board. The notice will be in the form of a “show cause” order, meaning you will be invited to “show cause” why the Board should not discipline you as it is proposing. It is, of course, extremely important to pay close attention to the response deadline for a show cause order; when you work with the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team, we will make sure you don’t miss the response date.
Most disciplinary cases involving show cause orders are resolved through agreed settlements. A settlement avoids the uncertainty of a hearing and reduces the amount of time and stress that must be invested in defending against the misconduct allegations. The attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team have years of experience negotiating settlements in these kinds of cases, and we will fight to get you the best settlement offer we can given the facts of your case.
That said, whether or not to settle your case will always be your decision. If it doesn’t settle, it will proceed to a hearing that will be conducted very much like a civil court trial. There will be witnesses, documentary evidence, cross-examination, and arguments before the hearing tribunal. The decision can be appealed if it goes against you.
If your case goes to the hearing stage, you will want the strongest defense possible. Working with the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team is a good way to make sure you get that strong defense. This is not the time to try to defend yourself; when things are at the hearing stage, you need a professional on your side.
Potential Outcomes
The Board has the discretion to impose a wide range of discipline in cases where a pharmacist is found to have committed misconduct. Of course, not every case results in the pharmacist’s license being revoked or suspended. The Board may fine the pharmacist, or order the pharmacist to take certain continuing education courses, or arrive at some other form of discipline that it believes fits the case.
If you are disciplined, your online record will reflect the fact that you were disciplined. It will also show if your license is suspended or is no longer in force. The public is able to get details of your case, but must ask the Board for that information. Unlike in some other states, the details are not immediately available online.
The LLF National Law Firm Can Defend Your Pharmacist License in Central Arkansas
No matter where in Central Arkansas you are working as a pharmacist – Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, or nearby towns – the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team is ready to help you protect your rights and defend your pharmacist license in disciplinary investigations and proceedings.
Our attorneys understand the laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that apply in pharmacist misconduct cases in Arkansas. We focus our work on protecting professional license holders – including pharmacists – in misconduct investigations and disciplinary hearings. We do this all across the country, including in Arkansas, and that breadth of experience helps us with every client who trusts us with defending their rights when their professional license is on the line.
Don’t try to take on the burden of defending yourself against misconduct allegations. Let the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team carry that burden for you. Call us today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our contact form so we can schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your case. Tell us about the allegations you are facing, and let us explain how we can help.