The Lento Law Firm Defends New Hampshire Pharmacists
The New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy cautions its licensed pharmacists that it “monitors the practice of pharmacy” through “ongoing inspections, investigations, licensure, and regulation” of pharmacists to ensure safe and quality pharmaceutical care. The New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy employs career professionals to pursue license discipline against the state's pharmacists. If you face New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy misconduct charges, then you could lose your pharmacist's license. The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is here to help you defend New Hampshire State Board of Pharmacy misconduct charges to obtain your best disciplinary outcome. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
New Hampshire Pharmacy Practice Rewards
You chose to pursue your New Hampshire pharmacy practice for good reasons. Your reasons may have had to do with the special allure of New Hampshire life, your connections to the state, or the state's outstanding healthcare system and many rewarding employment opportunities for pharmacy professionals. You know how rewarding pharmacy practice can be in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Derry, Dover, Rochester, Salem, Merrimack, Londonderry, Hudson, Bedford, Keene, Portsmouth, or another fine New Hampshire city or town. Whatever your reason for pursuing New Hampshire pharmacy practice, you should consider your investment and expected return when facing pharmacist disciplinary charges. Let us help you preserve that investment and earn those deserved returns by representing you in defense of your New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy misconduct charges.
Nationwide Stakes to New Hampshire Pharmacist Discipline
Your New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges carry nationwide stakes, not just the considerable interest you have in continuing your New Hampshire pharmacy practice. The New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification has state legislative authority to offer reciprocal licensure by endorsement. You may have gotten your New Hampshire pharmacy license based on a pharmacy license you already held in another state. Or now that you have your New Hampshire pharmacy license, you may plan to license in another state to move or expand your pharmacy practice. Licensure by endorsement saves you from having to retake the pharmacist licensing exam and complete again the internship and other requirements. You can save substantial time, trouble, and expense through reciprocal licensure. However, discipline in New Hampshire can undermine and prevent your licensure in other states while also causing you to lose any license you already hold elsewhere. Let us help you avoid nationwide impacts from your New Hampshire license proceeding.
New Hampshire Pharmacist Licensure
Section 318:2 of the New Hampshire Pharmacy Act creates the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy to regulate pharmacists in the state. Under New Hampshire Statutes Section 318:18, the Board of Pharmacy grants licenses only under certain qualifications and may withhold a license from any applicant not meeting those qualifications. New Hampshire Statutes Section 318:5-A further authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to adopt regulations for the licensure of pharmacists. The Board of Pharmacy has adopted pharmacist licensing rules at New Hampshire Administrative Code Section Ph 100-700 et seq. Those rules carry out the Board of Pharmacy's authority to require a license for anyone practicing pharmacy in the state. You must maintain your New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy license if you intend to continue your pharmacy practice in the state. We can help defend you against license charges.
New Hampshire Pharmacist Qualifications
Section 318.18 of the New Hampshire Pharmacy Act defines what a pharmacist must show to meet the qualifications for licensure. Those requirements include earning your pharmacy degree from an accredited institution, passing the pharmacist's licensing exam, showing your good moral character, and completing at least 1,500 hours of supervised pharmacy practice. You put a lot into your New Hampshire pharmacy license. You expect to get a lot out to justify your investment. Let us help you preserve your anticipated return.
New Hampshire Pharmacist Disciplinary Authority
The New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy may not only issue or deny you a license but also suspend or revoke your license once issued. Board of Pharmacy Rule 2207.01 authorizes Board of Pharmacy disciplinary officials to suspend or revoke your license or impose other discipline for a violation of the Board of Pharmacy's standards. License discipline follows notice that you violated one or more of the enumerated grounds for discipline. The Board of Pharmacy devotes substantial state resources to retaining, training, and empowering qualified disciplinary officials to investigate, charge, and pursue disciplinary matters. Do not underestimate the commitment of the Board of Pharmacy officials to follow through on your notice of misconduct charges. We can help you level the playing field with our attorneys' considerable experience and skill.
New Hampshire Pharmacist Disciplinary Decisions
You generally cannot conceal pharmacy license discipline. The New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy publishes its disciplinary findings online. Any member of the public or interested person may find out the name, license number, factual grounds for discipline, and discipline the Board of Pharmacy imposes. The Board of Pharmacy may notify your employer and any other healthcare licensing board from which you hold a license in New Hampshire or another state. Your employer and other licensing boards may also see your name in the published reports and learn the details of your discipline. So, too, may your colleagues, friends, and family members. You may also have a duty to self-report your discipline to your employer and to other licensing boards. Don't expect to hide your discipline. Instead, let us help you avoid or minimize discipline.
New Hampshire Pharmacist Disciplinary Sanctions
The New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy clearly has the authority to suspend or revoke your license. Board of Pharmacy Rule 2207.01 expressly authorizes “suspension or revocation of license” as one sanction form. Board of Pharmacy Rules 402.01 and 402.02 describe the effects of suspension or revocation, including the inability to practice pharmacy. But Board of Pharmacy Rule 2207.01 alternatively authorizes disciplinary officials to fine, reprimand, or “take other corrective action” fitting to the circumstances of the wrong. That discretion to impose lesser sanctions gives our attorneys the opportunity to argue for remedial rather than harsh punitive relief. Board of Pharmacy Rule 2207.01 requires the disciplinary officials to consider the following factors when determining the sanction to impose:
- the offense's nature;
- the protective purpose of the rule you violated;
- your state of mind when violating the rule;
- any harm or potential harm to public health;
- whether your discipline would deter other wrongs;
- the degree to which you cooperate with the Board of Pharmacy;
- whether you acknowledge wrongdoing; and
- the cost of disciplinary proceedings.
New Hampshire Pharmacy License Reinstatement
You may be able to get your license back if you have already lost your license to revocation, suspension, or voluntary surrender. The New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy has enacted its Rules 401.06 and 1807.01, authorizing the reinstatement of licenses under certain conditions. Reinstatement requires a written application with convincing grounds, reliable documentation supporting the application, and a convincing showing at a Board of Pharmacy hearing. Our attorneys can help you evaluate your reinstatement rights and make the necessary application and showing at the hearing.
Grounds for New Hampshire Pharmacist Discipline
New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy Rule 501.01 lists the standards of conduct with which the state's pharmacists must comply to retain their license in good standing. Violating those standards may lead to disciplinary charges and proceedings before the Board of Pharmacy under the above statutes and rules. The listed grounds are several and broad. The following sections identify the common grounds for discipline and suggest how we may be able to defend those charges against you.
Nontherapeutic Dispensing as Grounds for New Hampshire Pharmacist Discipline
New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy Rule 501.01 includes dispensing a drug for other than therapeutic reasons as a ground for discipline. Examples of common violations would include dispensing drugs for personal use, recreational purposes, to meet a dependency or addiction, or as part of an illicit distribution ring. We may be able to defend such charges by showing that you did not distribute the alleged drugs, others misidentified you as the wrongdoer, or your distribution was for lawful purposes to the best of your knowledge within pharmacy standards.
Financial Exploitation as Grounds for New Hampshire Pharmacist Discipline
New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy Rule 501.01 includes financial exploitation of the pharmacist's role as a ground for discipline. Examples would include dividing fees with prescribing physicians, paying or accepting kickbacks, overcharging customers, or false billing of insurance. We may be able to defend such charges by consulting expert testimony by showing that you did not engage in the alleged financial transaction or that others were responsible for the alleged wrong.
Confidentiality Breach as Grounds for New Hampshire Pharmacist Discipline
New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy Rule 501.01 includes breaching confidentiality as a ground for discipline. Examples would include sharing with friends or others the prescriptions certain pharmacy customers are receiving or disclosing the health conditions of those pharmacy customers. We may be able to defend such charges by showing that you shared no health or prescription information, that others were responsible for the alleged disclosures, or that you had emergency grounds for the disclosure.
Impaired Practice as Grounds for New Hampshire Pharmacist Discipline
New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy Rule 501.01 includes practicing pharmacy while impaired by alcohol or drugs as a ground for discipline. We may be able to defend such charges by showing that you were not impaired, others misidentified your medicated or other mental or physical condition as an impairment, your impairment was due to an unanticipated prescription medication reaction, or you promptly remedied any impairment without endangering pharmacy customers. Do not accept an offer of enrollment in an alternative to a discipline program without first consulting us. Diversion programs can be unduly costly and onerous and can lead to their own disciplinary charges and license suspension or revocation for failure to complete the program, even when its services are unnecessary.
Substandard Practice as Grounds for New Hampshire Pharmacist Discipline
New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy Rule 501.01 includes practicing below the standards for safe and effective pharmacy practice as a ground for discipline. Examples would include filling the prescription with the wrong drug, giving the wrong instructions with the properly filled prescription, and failing to maintain appropriate records of the drugs stored, inventoried, sold, and supplied. We may be able to defend such charges by showing that you made no errors, your conduct met all standards, others were responsible for the alleged errors, or you promptly corrected any substandard practice when brought to your attention without endangering pharmacy customers.
New Hampshire Pharmacist Disciplinary Procedures
You have certain procedural protections available to you that our attorneys can help you invoke when facing New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges. New Hampshire's Administrative Procedures Act, New Hampshire Statutes Sections 541-A:1 et seq., guarantees you constitutional due process, including fair notice of the charges and formal hearing in contested cases. You must assert these rights to gain their protection. We can help you do so by getting a specification of the charges, obtaining the Board of Pharmacy's evidence against you, and invoking and attending a formal hearing to present your testimony and other defense evidence while challenging the Board's evidence. If you have already lost your formal hearing, we may be able to appeal your adverse decision. If you have already lost all appeals, we may get a court to review and reverse the adverse decision.
Premier New Hampshire Pharmacist Defense Services
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available across New Hampshire, including in Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Derry, Dover, Rochester, Salem, Merrimack, Londonderry, Hudson, Bedford, Keene, Portsmouth, and other cities and towns, to defend your pharmacy license disciplinary charges. We have helped hundreds of pharmacists and other professionals with strategic and effective license defense. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.