As a licensed psychiatrist practicing in Ohio, you know first-hand how hard you’ve had to work to earn your medical degree and your board certification to practice as a psychiatrist in the state. Years of education, training, study, and time and effort have been poured into your career, and all of it depends on you keeping your medical license.
That is why it is so important to get help if you learn that a complaint has been filed against you with the State Medical Board of Ohio alleging that you have committed misconduct. Your license is your livelihood, and if it is suspended or revoked, you will lose your ability to practice – and earn a living – as a psychiatrist. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team understands how important your medical license is to you. We also understand how to defend against misconduct allegations. No matter where in Ohio you practice – Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Toledo, Dayton, or anywhere else in the state, the LLF National Law Firm is here for you. Call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to learn more about how we can help.
State Medical Board of Ohio Licensing
The State Medical Board of Ohio is responsible for licensing physicians, including specialists such as psychiatrists, in the state. The Board is also responsible for license renewals and for responding to misconduct complaints filed against doctors, including psychiatrists. If you are facing a misconduct investigation or disciplinary proceeding relating to your medical license, the State Medical Board of Ohio will be the one responsible for your case.
Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
The State Medical Board of Ohio also will certify your medical license in the event you elect to participate in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. If you use your Ohio medical license to enable you to practice in another state that is a member of the IMLC, it is doubly important that you keep your Ohio license in good standing. Losing your ability to practice as a psychiatrist in Ohio would also mean you lose your ability to do so in any other IMLC state in which you had been authorized to practice. This highlights the importance of taking misconduct allegations seriously and is another reason why you should contact the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team if you learn that a misconduct complaint has been filed against you.
The State Medical Board of Ohio’s Licensing Authority
The State Medical Board of Ohio gets its authority to issue licenses from the state’s Medical Practices Act. The Medical Practices Act gives the Board the power to issue licenses to qualified applicants. It also allows the Board to deny licenses to those who fail to meet the Board’s standards, including because of a criminal conviction or because of license discipline in another state. The Board maintains a list of “disqualifying criminal offenses” that can be considered when an applicant with a criminal history is requesting a license, or when a licensed psychiatrist seeks to renew their license or otherwise reports the conviction to the Board.
Because the Board does not automatically refuse to issue a license based on a disqualifying criminal offense, the way that the Board is informed about the offense can make a significant difference in how it responds. If you have a disqualifying criminal offense, the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team can help you prepare your disclosure to the Board so that the Board can fully consider the relevant facts and circumstances, including those that would favor issuing or renewing your license. How you explain your conviction can make all the difference when it comes to how the Board reacts to the information about your past.
The State Medical Board of Ohio’s Authority to Regulate Psychiatrists
As noted, in addition to issuing and renewing licenses, the State Medical Board of Ohio is also responsible for reviewing allegations of misconduct against physicians, including psychiatrists, and for investigating those allegations where the alleged misconduct is within the Board’s regulatory authority. The Board can also issue sanctions against psychiatrists found to have committed misconduct. In most cases, disciplinary actions are public, which means that even if a disciplinary matter does not result in your medical license being suspended or revoked, anything short of a dismissal is likely to become part of your public license record.
The most important thing you can do if you are notified that the Board is filing disciplinary charges against you is to respond to the allegations. Failing to respond will almost always lead to the Board imposing sanctions against you. And the best way to make sure your response is as helpful to your case as possible is to be working with an experienced professional license defense attorney.
Disciplinary Actions Against Psychiatrists in Ohio
There are a number of grounds for the State Medical Board of Ohio to take disciplinary action against a psychiatrist in the state. There are a total of eleven separate “Categories of Violations” that the Board can assert against a psychiatrist based on a misconduct complaint that has been made against the psychiatrist. These include:
- Improperly prescribing or dispensing drugs
- Failing to follow minimal standards of care
- Committing sexual misconduct with patients or co-workers
- Engaging in fraud, misrepresentation, or deception, including in connection with securing their license, in advertising, or in other areas related to their practice
- Ethics violations, including improperly disclosing confidential information
- Being disciplined by another state
- Practicing without a license or beyond the scope of the license
- Failing to follow limits placed on their practice by the Board
- Being convicted of a crime, particularly if it is related to their psychiatric practice
- Practicing psychiatry while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Failure to meet the Board’s continuing medical education requirements
These different categories of violations each have their own minimum and maximum penalties, along with a range of potential fines. Penalties can include:
- Reprimand by the Board
- Probation for a time period to be set by the Board
- Suspension for a fixed period of time, or an “indefinite suspension” until conditions set by the Board have been met by the psychiatrist
- Permanent revocation of the psychiatrist’s license
- Fines, ranging from $1000 to $20,000, depending on the violation
The Board makes it fairly simple for anyone to file a complaint against a psychiatrist in Ohio. It maintains a webpage that explains the complaint process to the public and includes a launch button that will allow anyone to file a complaint online. The Board’s webpage explains that there are a number of areas that the Board does not have jurisdiction over, such as fee disputes, insurance coverage issues, personality conflicts, and scheduling issues.
In addition to the online complaint form, the Board will accept phone calls via both its Confidential Complaint Hotline and its regular phone number.
Procedures in Disciplinary Cases Against Psychiatrists in Ohio
There are certain procedures the Board will follow if a complaint is made against a psychiatrist (or any other health professional that the Board regulates). The first thing the Board will do is to review the complaint to determine whether the Board has jurisdiction over the alleged misconduct. If the complaint is about a matter that isn’t within the Board’s jurisdiction, it will be dismissed. It may also be dismissed if on its face the complaint does not appear to allege facts that would support taking disciplinary action against the psychiatrist.
In cases where the Board determines that the complaint does support taking disciplinary action against the psychiatrist, the matter will be forwarded to an investigator who will review the allegations and attempt to gather evidence. The Board notes that investigations can take a few days, or up to a year or more depending on how complicated the issues are. According to the Board, most investigations take several months.
The investigation process can be very stressful. It can be enormously helpful during this time period to be working with an experienced professional license defense attorney from the LLF National Law Firm. During investigations, we can help in a number of ways. These include:
- Advising you of what is going on with the investigation
- Acting as the point of contact with the Board so that you can focus on your psychiatry practice
- Making sure you respond in a timely and helpful way to the investigator’s requests for information and any deadlines that may arise in connection with the investigation
- Preparing you for your interview with the investigator, so you know what to expect when it happens
- Appearing with you at your interview to make sure you understand the questions you’re asked before you answer them, and that the questions are clear and fair
- In some cases, conducting our own investigation to uncover evidence that may be helpful to your side of the case
Once the investigation is complete, the Board will determine whether it supports taking disciplinary action against the psychiatrist. In many cases, the matter will be resolved by way of a consent agreement. The benefit of a consent agreement is that it avoids the uncertainty of a formal hearing. Consent agreements can also be negotiated. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team understands the concerns that the Board has about disciplining psychiatrists that the Board believes have committed misconduct. We regularly negotiate consent agreements with the focus being to arrive at a resolution that has as little adverse impact on our client’s license and ability to practice as possible.
In cases where the matter cannot be resolved with a consent agreement, the Board will issue a citation against the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist has the option to request a formal hearing or to proceed on paper without one.
If the matter proceeds without a formal hearing, proposed findings of fact and a proposed order will be prepared and submitted to the Board. The Board can then decide to accept the findings and the order, or to amend the order. If the matter goes to a hearing, both sides will be allowed to present witnesses and evidence, and to cross-examine the other side’s witnesses and contest the other side’s evidence. At the close of the hearing, the Hearing Examiner will prepare a report and recommendation for the Board to review. The Board can vote to accept the recommendation or to amend it.
It is not unusual for cases to settle even during the hearing process. Whether to settle and on what terms is something your professional license defense attorney can help you with.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team Can Defend You
If you are a psychiatrist facing misconduct allegations in Ohio, you need the help of an experienced professional license defense attorney so you can protect your license, your reputation, and your livelihood. You have invested years, if not decades, earning your license and building your practice. Your license is very likely your most valuable personal asset. When your license is threatened because of a misconduct complaint, it makes sense to take effective steps to defend yourself.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team is here for you. Our experienced attorneys regularly defend medical professionals, including psychiatrists, in misconduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings all across Ohio. No matter where in the state you are practicing, we are able to help protect your rights and defend your license against misconduct allegations.
This is not something you want to take on yourself. Misconduct investigations are often lengthy, and the investigators are not on your side. You need someone in your corner who knows the entire process, who will look out for your rights, who will help you understand what is going on with your case, and who will be there when you need them to defend you against misconduct charges if the Board decides to bring them against you. On top of all of that, you need someone who will be able to answer your questions about what is happening with your case.
The LLF National Law Firm is here for you. Call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. We – like you – are here to listen and to help!