The Lento Law Firm Defends New Mexico Pharmacists
The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy warns pharmacists that it patrols the profession for violations of pharmacy standards, especially those that threaten patient health while enforcing state and federal drug laws, pharmacy ethics, and professional conduct rules. The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy is well-equipped to pursue misconduct charges against you. You could lose your pharmacy license to suspension or revocation and lose your pharmacy employment and practice along with it. Let the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team help you defend New Mexico State Board of Pharmacy misconduct charges for your best possible disciplinary outcome. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
New Mexico Pharmacy Practice Rewards
New Mexico pharmacy practice has its rewards. New Mexico is a great state in which to live for its natural beauty, recreational opportunities, arts community, and cultural experiences. New Mexico also has a sophisticated healthcare system where pharmacy practice is a critical part and substantial population centers. You know the rewards of pharmacy practice in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Roswell, Farmington, Hobbs, Clovis, South Valley, Carlsbad, Alamogordo, Gallup, or another fine New Mexico city or town. Protect your New Mexico pharmacy practice. Let us help you defend your New Mexico Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges.
Nationwide Stakes to New Mexico Pharmacist Discipline
Don't assume that you can confine your New Mexico Board of Pharmacy disciplinary matter to within the borders of the state of New Mexico. Your disciplinary matter has nationwide stakes. Section 61-11-10 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to issue a reciprocal license based on your pharmacy license in another state. Because New Mexico offers reciprocity, other states can offer you a reciprocal license based on your New Mexico pharmacy license. Reciprocal licensure saves you the substantial time, trouble, and expense of completing the education, examination, and work experience requirements all over again, substantially reducing the cost, time, and expense of gaining a pharmacy license in another state. Yet discipline before the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy can cost you reciprocal licensure in other states. You could lose a license you already hold in another state or lose the opportunity for another license simply because you suffer discipline in New Mexico. Beware the nationwide stakes. Get our help with your New Mexico license defense.
New Mexico Pharmacist Licensure
Section 61-11-4 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act creates the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy to license and regulate pharmacy practice in the state. Section 61-11-14 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to issue a pharmacy license while prohibiting pharmacy practice in the state without such a license. You must hold a valid New Mexico Board of Pharmacy license if you intend to continue your pharmacy practice in the state. New Mexico Statutes Section 61-11-24 makes it a criminal misdemeanor to practice pharmacy without a valid license. New Mexico Statutes Section 31-19-1 provides for misdemeanor punishments of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. You won't practice pharmacy in New Mexico without your license. Let us help you defend that license.
New Mexico Pharmacist Qualifications
Section 61-11-9 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act provides for the qualifications for licensure. You must earn your pharmacy degree from an accredited program, pass the pharmacy examination, prove your good moral character, and complete at least one year of experience under supervision to qualify for your New Mexico license. You know how hard it was to complete those requirements, the time it took, and the finances you invested. Don't place all that investment at risk of loss, and don't sacrifice the substantial returns you expected on that investment. Let us help you defend your New Mexico pharmacy license so that you can enjoy those returns.
New Mexico Pharmacist Disciplinary Authority
The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy not only has the authority to issue your license but also to suspend or revoke it. Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act expressly authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to suspend or revoke your license if finding that you engaged in misconduct in one of the listed forms as grounds for discipline. Do not underestimate the Board of Pharmacy's authority, commitment, and resources to pursue your discipline. The Board of Pharmacy is a sophisticated state agency backed by the state's substantial resources. Its disciplinary officials are career employees with the skills and responsibility to pursue discipline upon complaint of disciplinary grounds. Let us help you level the playing field against those agency resources with our own substantial skills and experience.
New Mexico Pharmacist Disciplinary Decisions
If you suffer New Mexico Board of Pharmacy discipline, that discipline will be public, not private. The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy publishes its discipline orders online, listing the disciplined pharmacist's name and license number and linking to the order detailing the pharmacist's specific wrongs and penalties for those wrongs. You won't be able to hide your discipline. One click of the online link will reveal its details to your pharmacy employer, colleagues, clients or patients, and friends and family members. Licensing boards in other professions or other states will also be able to discover your New Mexico pharmacist license discipline. Even if your employer or other licensing boards did not discover your discipline, you would likely have a duty to report it. Let us help you fight the charges so that you don't face discipline, discipline disclosure, and all the reputational and employment harm that could follow it.
New Mexico Pharmacist Disciplinary Sanctions
The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy has options as to what disciplinary sanction or sanctions it imposes. As indicated above, Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to suspend or revoke your license. However, the Board of Pharmacy may determine instead to limit or restrict your license or impose terms and conditions for you to retain your license. License suspension or revocation means stopping your pharmacy practice. License limitation may mean practicing only under supervision, dispensing only certain drugs, or practicing only at certain locations or for certain hours. Terms and conditions for retaining your license while on probation may include additional pharmacy training or education, mental health exam and treatment, physical exam and treatment, or other remedial measures. These options give us strategic opportunities to advocate for your remedial treatment rather than punitive sanction.
New Mexico Pharmacy License Reinstatement
The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy has only limited statutory authority under the Pharmacy Act to reinstate a license. If you have already lost your New Mexico pharmacist's license, we can help you evaluate whether you qualify for reinstatement. Reinstatement generally requires a convincing written application with appropriate documentation and a convincing showing at a Board of Pharmacy hearing. If you do not qualify for reinstatement, we may be able to appeal your loss of license or even obtain court review and reversal. Don't give up without exploring all options. We can help you do so.
Grounds for New Mexico Pharmacy Discipline
Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act lists the specific grounds on which the Board of Pharmacy may suspend or revoke your license. The grounds that Board of Pharmacy disciplinary officials allege are important to your effective defense. We may be able to prove that the allegations are incorrect, inadequate, or not supported by substantial evidence. We may also be able to make a case in mitigation of any penalty, even if the allegations are correct. Consider below some of the common grounds and how we may be able to defend you.
Unprofessionalism as Grounds for New Mexico Pharmacist Discipline
Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act includes as a first ground for discipline that you were “guilty of gross immorality or dishonorable or unprofessional conduct,” as the Board of Pharmacy defines those wrongs. Unprofessionalism could include issues with your hygiene, dress, or demeanor, harassment of colleagues or clients, violence or threats indicating endangerment in the workplace, or even insubordination toward supervisors or disrespect of colleagues or subordinates. We may be able to help you defend unprofessionalism charges by showing that you did not commit the alleged acts, the acts you committed were not unprofessional, and that you did not harm or endanger colleagues or clients.
Drug Law Violation as Grounds for New Mexico Pharmacist Discipline
Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act includes violation of state or federal drug laws as grounds for discipline. Drug law violations can be among the more serious charges because of the profession's access to controlled substances. We may be able to show in defense that you did not violate any drug law, that others were responsible for the alleged violations, or that any violation was unintentional, did not harm any patient or colleague, had a mitigating circumstance, and is not likely to repeat.
Drug Dependency as Grounds for New Mexico Pharmacist Discipline
Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act includes drug addiction or habitual intemperance as a ground for discipline. We may be able to show in defense that you were not addicted to drugs or intoxicated by alcohol in the workplace, that you were misidentified, that you had an unexpected prescription drug reaction, or that you have already treated and corrected any addiction or intemperance. Beware offers of referral to the alternative to discipline program that New Mexico Statute Section 61-11A-1 et seq. authorizes. The program may prove so arduous as to lead to your license discipline for non-compliance even though your addiction or intemperance has abated under care.
Unfitness as Grounds for New Mexico Pharmacist Discipline
Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act includes unfitness due to mental or physical disability. We may be able to show in defense that you were continuously fit, that any unfitness did not affect your practice, that you have recovered from any unfitness, or that your employer owes your disability an ADA accommodation.
Felony Conviction as Grounds for New Mexico Pharmacist Discipline
Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act includes felony criminal conviction as a ground for discipline. We may be able to show that you did not suffer the alleged conviction, a court reversed it, or it was not a felony and, therefore, not disqualifying.
Credential Fraud as Grounds for New Mexico Pharmacist Discipline
Section 61-11-20 of the New Mexico Pharmacy Act includes misrepresenting your qualifications for licensure to the Board of Pharmacy on your original license application or renewal applications. Credential fraud may include not only inaccuracies about your education or internship but also cheating on the licensing exam. We may be able to help you defend credential fraud charges by showing that your representations were accurate or that any inaccuracies were unintentional rather than deliberate and were immaterial to your qualifications for licensure.
New Mexico Pharmacist Disciplinary Procedures
A disciplinary charge does not mean that you must suffer a disciplinary sanction. The New Mexico Board of Pharmacy must comply with the New Mexico Administrative Procedures Act codified at New Mexico Statutes Section 12-8-1 et seq. Your constitutional due process rights and the New Mexico Administrative Procedures Act require that the Board of Pharmacy notify you of the details of the disciplinary charges and offer you an administrative hearing. We can help you evaluate the charges, invoke the hearing, and prepare for and conduct the hearing. At the hearing, we can present your exonerating and mitigating evidence through witnesses and exhibits while cross-examining adverse witnesses and challenging other documentary evidence. If you have already lost your hearing, we can appeal the adverse decision. We may also be able to obtain court review and reversal of an adverse decision on appeal if you have already lost your appeal.
Premier New Mexico Pharmacist Defense Services
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available across New Mexico, including in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Roswell, Farmington, Hobbs, Clovis, South Valley, Carlsbad, Alamogordo, Gallup, and other cities and towns, to defend your pharmacy license. We help hundreds of pharmacists and other professionals with strategic and effective license defense. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
