The Lento Law Firm Defends Oregon Pharmacists
The Oregon Board of Pharmacy warns its licensed pharmacists that it “serves to promote and protect public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring high standards” in pharmacy practice by “effective regulation of the manufacture and distribution of drugs.” Take that warning seriously if you face Oregon Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges. The Oregon Board of Pharmacy has the statutory duty to license pharmacists in the state and to suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline those licenses. Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team to help you defend and defeat Oregon Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now for the skilled and experienced help you need for your best disciplinary outcome.
Oregon Pharmacy Practice Rewards
Oregon can be a great state within which to practice pharmacy. Beyond its beautiful natural environment, sophisticated arts, attractive culture, and temperate weather, Oregon has the large population centers and sophisticated health systems to support rewarding pharmacy practice. Pharmacy practice in Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, Hillsboro, Bend, Beaverton, Medford, Springfield, Corvallis, Auburn, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Grants Pass, Aloha, or another fine Oregon city of good size and with a strong healthcare system can produce financial rewards, professional security, and personal satisfaction. Yet Oregon Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges threaten those substantial rewards. Let us help you defend your pharmacy license against Oregon Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges.
Nationwide Stakes to Oregon Pharmacist Discipline
Oregon Code Section 689.265 authorizes the Oregon Board of Pharmacy to issue you a pharmacist's license by endorsement or reciprocity. Reciprocal licensing generally means that you have greater liberty and flexibility to move your pharmacy practice from state to state or to conduct a multi-state pharmacy practice. You may have gotten your Oregon pharmacist's license by reciprocity based on your license in another state. You may conversely plan to obtain a pharmacy license in another state to move or expand your pharmacy practice. Yet your Oregon Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges threaten your ability to obtain a reciprocal license. Indeed, your disciplinary charges threaten any existing license you have in another state or any future license you plan to obtain. Licensing boards routinely require license holders seeking renewal or license applicants to disclose prior discipline. Prior discipline may disqualify you from licensing elsewhere or may cost you licenses you already hold in other states. Don't run from your Oregon charges, hoping to practice elsewhere. Instead, let us help you defend your Oregon charges.
Oregon Pharmacist Licensure
Oregon's legislature enacted Oregon Code Section 689.115 to create the Oregon Board of Pharmacy to regulate pharmacy practice in the state. Oregon Code Section 689.151 gives the Board of Pharmacy complete control over the licensing of pharmacists for pharmacy practice in the state. Oregon Code Section 689.225 prohibits any person from practicing pharmacy or using the title of a pharmacist unless holding an active and valid license from the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. The same statute makes it a Class A misdemeanor crime to practice pharmacy without a valid license. Courts can punish Oregon Class A misdemeanor crimes with up to a $6,250 fine and under one year in jail. Lose your Oregon Board of Pharmacy license, and you won't practice pharmacy in the state without substantial risk of severe punishment. Let us help you defend your disciplinary charges rather than run the risk of losing your license and practice.
Oregon Pharmacist Qualifications
It wasn't easy for you to qualify for your Oregon pharmacy license. Keep your substantial investment in your pharmacy license in mind when determining how to fight disciplinary charges. Oregon Code Section 689.255 sets forth the qualifications for a pharmacy license by examination. Those qualifications include extensive education from an accredited program, passing the licensing examination, proving your good character, and completing the required internship. Even if you qualified in Oregon by reciprocity, you had to earn your first pharmacy license by examination. You know what it took to get your first license. Don't lose your license to disciplinary charges and, in the course of doing so, lose your entire investment in your education, licensure, and practice. Retain our skilled and experienced attorneys for your best disciplinary outcome.
Oregon Pharmacist Disciplinary Authority
Oregon's legislature did more than just grant the Oregon Board of Pharmacy the power to license pharmacists for practice in the state. The legislature also gave the Board of Pharmacy the power to suspend and revoke licenses already granted. Oregon Code Section 689.150 grants the Board of Pharmacy the power to suspend, revoke, or restrict pharmacy licenses. The disciplinary charges you face from the Oregon Board of Pharmacy are pursuant to clear statutory authority, whether those charges have factual support or not. The Board of Pharmacy disciplinary officials issuing those charges have the legal authority to do so. They may question whether they have the factual grounds and may want your prompt response. Or they may believe that they have proof of misconduct but question the appropriate penalty. In any case, retain our attorneys to help you defend the charges for your best disciplinary outcome.
Oregon Pharmacist Disciplinary Decisions
When the Oregon Board of Pharmacy determines that a pharmacist has violated its rules and regulations and deserves license discipline, the Board of Pharmacy publishes its decision in an online searchable database. Anyone who wishes to do so may see the disciplined pharmacist's name, license number, discipline, and factual basis for discipline, including the embarrassing details of the wrong. The disciplinary reports also list the license suspension or revocation, fines, and other penalties the Board of Pharmacy imposes. You won't be able to hide your discipline if you suffer discipline. Your pharmacy employer, colleagues, clients or patients, and family members and friends will all be able to discover your discipline, as will licensing boards in other states or professions. You will also likely have duties to report your discipline to your employer, prospective employers, and other licensing boards. You generally can't hide discipline. Fight rather than run. And fight the charges as effectively as possible with our skilled and experienced help.
Oregon Pharmacist Disciplinary Sanctions
As indicated above, Oregon Code Section 689.150 authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to suspend, revoke, or restrict pharmacy licenses. License revocation, of course, means losing your license and ability to practice pharmacy. While license suspension may sound less severe, suspension means you will be unable to practice pharmacy for the suspension's duration. Even a short suspension may cause your employer to terminate your employment. A suspension may also condition your license reinstatement on your completing arduous education, counseling, or other terms. The Board of Pharmacy may alternatively restrict your license to practice under supervision or conditioned on your completing additional education, training, peer review, counseling, or other challenging terms. Oregon Code Section 689.445 authorizes other discipline, including probation, conditions, and a $1,000 fine for each violation. We may be able to help you limit or eliminate any discipline that interrupts your practice. Let us help you present a case in mitigation, even if you committed the violation the officials allege.
Oregon Pharmacy License Reinstatement
If you have already lost your license, we may be able to help you gain its reinstatement. Oregon Code Section 689.445(2) authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to reinstate your license after its suspension or revocation. The statute, though, requires that you make an application and present your case for reinstatement at a hearing before the Board, which the statute expressly grants discretion to grant or refuse the request. Don't leave reinstatement to chance. Let us make a convincing written case with all appropriate documentation and help you present convincing testimony at the hearing.
Grounds for Oregon Pharmacy Discipline
Generally, disciplinary officials must have statutory grounds to discipline your professional license. Oregon Code Section 689.405 lists the several grounds for discipline that the Board of Pharmacy may find, authorizing one or more of the above disciplinary sanctions. Those grounds are relatively few in number but can be extraordinarily broad and vague. Consider the following common grounds and how we may be able to help you defend them.
Unprofessionalism as Grounds for Oregon Pharmacist Discipline
Oregon Code Section 689.405 first lists unprofessional conductas a ground for pharmacist discipline. Unprofessional conduct can include poor dress, poor hygiene, inappropriate demeanor, abusive language, harassment or other misconduct toward colleagues or subordinates, chronic tardiness or unexcused or unexplained absences, and virtually anything else disruptive of the workplace or creating distrust or disrespect toward the profession. We may be able to help defend unprofessionalism charges by showing that you did not commit the alleged acts, that others misidentified you, or that your conduct was a temporary unpredictable medication response.
Negligence as Grounds for Oregon Pharmacist Discipline
Oregon Code Section 689.405 next lists repeated or gross negligence as a ground for pharmacist discipline. Negligence may include filling the wrong prescription, giving the wrong instructions, or other errors in handling pharmaceuticals. We may be able to show that you made no careless errors, that others were on duty and responsible for any errors, or that the errors were due to mislabeled products or other anomalies beyond your control.
Incapacity as Grounds for Oregon Pharmacist Discipline
Oregon Code Section 689.405 next lists incapacityas a ground for pharmacist discipline. Under the statute, the incapacity must prevent the pharmacist from engaging in pharmacy “with reasonable skill, competence and safety to the public.” Incapacity may involve physical or mental conditions affecting the pharmacist's ability to practice within the profession's standards. We may be able to show with medical and vocational consultant support that you are capable of competent practice, that your employer owes you ADA reasonable accommodations to enable your competent practice, or that your incapacity was brief and abated without any risk of incompetent practice.
Impairment as Grounds for Oregon Pharmacist Discipline
Oregon Code Section 689.405 next lists impairmentas a ground for pharmacist discipline. Impairment can include a drug or alcohol issue, including dependency or addiction. We may be able to show that you were not practicing pharmacy while impaired by drugs or alcohol, that you had an unexpected medication reaction, or that any impairment was temporary and corrected without risk of incompetence. We may also help you evaluate offers of an alternative to the discipline program. Do not accept such an offer without our advice and counsel. Those programs can, in the worst cases, set a professional up for failure at risk of losing the license.
Crime as Grounds for Oregon Pharmacist Discipline
Oregon Code Section 689.405 next lists felony convictionor violation of state or federal drug laws as a ground for pharmacist discipline. We may be able to show that you did not suffer conviction, that a court reversed your conviction, or that the conviction was not a felony or for violation of a drug law.
Oregon Pharmacist Disciplinary Procedures
When you face Oregon Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges, you have protective procedures available to you to contest those charges with our skilled and experienced representation. Oregon Code Section 689.405 requires that the Board of Pharmacy comply with the state's Administrative Procedures Act. The Administrative Procedures Act guarantees you due process if you contest the Board of Pharmacy charges. Those protections include fair notice of the charges and supporting evidence, a fair hearing before an impartial administrative law judge, and the right to appeal any adverse decision to a higher authority, including limited court review in appropriate cases. Let us help you invoke those protections. If you have already lost your hearing, let us help you evaluate and pursue appeals or court review.
Premier Oregon Pharmacist Defense Services
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available across Oregon, including in Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, Hillsboro, Bend, Beaverton, Medford, Springfield, Corvallis, Auburn, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Grants Pass, Aloha, and other cities and towns, to defend your pharmacy license. Hundreds of professionals have trusted us for their best disciplinary outcome. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
