Working as a licensed physical therapist in Alaska means you have accomplished a lot. You’ve spent years getting the undergraduate and graduate-level education you need to be eligible to take and pass the National Physical Therapy Examination. Along the way, you’ve spent hundreds of hours, if not more, in clinical practice getting the literal hands-on experience you need to treat patients for a range of injuries and conditions. And you’ve invested time and money in applying for and securing your license to practice physical therapy from Alaska’s State Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board.
Because your license is the key to your livelihood, it is important you take steps to protect it if you learn that you have been accused of misconduct. Even a short suspension of your license can mean losing income while you’re suspended, and your reputation will also suffer. The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team is here to help. Our experienced attorneys can protect your rights during a misconduct investigation and can defend your license if you are facing disciplinary charges. Call us at 888.535.3686 or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation with you. Tell us about your case, and let us explain how we can help.
Alaska Physical Therapist Licensing
The Alaska State Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board is part of the state’s Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing and is responsible for issuing physical therapist licenses. The Board is composed of seven members, three of whom are licensed physical therapists (or two therapists and one therapist assistant), three of whom are licensed occupational therapists (or two therapists and one assistant), and one member of the public.
The Board has several areas of responsibility.
- Adopting regulations relating to physical and occupational therapy in Alaska
- Making licensing decisions
- Taking disciplinary action against therapists who commit misconduct
In terms of staffing, the day-to-day workings of the Board are handled by employees of the Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing. When it comes to disciplinary actions, for example, the Division of Corporations staff will handle much of the complaint intake and investigation process while the Board will make decisions about whether the disciplinary matter should continue and what discipline, if any, to impose on the physical therapist.
There is something that can happen even before you are licensed to practice physical therapy in Alaska that can stand in the way of you getting that license even if you are otherwise qualified and have passed the NPTE. If you have a criminal conviction in your past, or have been disciplined by another state’s physical therapy or other professional license board, you need to provide the Board with detailed information when you apply for your physical therapy license.
The Professional License Defense Team can help with this. We will make sure you meet your disclosure obligation and will work with you to prepare a detailed explanation that addresses the kinds of concerns the Board will have about issuing a license to someone who has a criminal record or who has faced discipline in other states. Submitting a thorough explanation when you file your application can make all the difference when it comes to the Board approving you for your physical therapist license in Alaska.
What Alaska’s State Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board Does When It Comes to Regulating Physical Therapists
The State Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board is ultimately responsible for reviewing and issuing physical therapist licenses in Alaska. It also makes the final decision when it comes to disciplining physical therapists accused of misconduct, after they have been investigated by the Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing.
When a physical therapist is publicly disciplined by the Board, that decision will be available to the public via the Board’s website, and information about the disciplinary action will also appear in connection with the PT’s public file, which can be searched for on the website for the state’s Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
Because disciplinary action can become part of your public record, even discipline that does not result in your license being suspended or revoked can have an effect on your reputation, and your ability to maintain a job or find a new one. The best way to protect your physical therapist license when you learn you are being investigated for misconduct is to contact the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team. We can help you from day one, through the investigation process and any disciplinary proceedings that may follow. Your attorney will keep you informed about what’s happening, what is likely to happen next, and will at all times be fighting to defend your license.
The Disciplinary Authority of Alaska’s State Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board
The Board has the power to discipline licensed physical therapists for a number of reasons. These include:
- Practicing physical therapy in a way that is “detrimental to the public health and welfare”
- Practicing physical therapy negligently
- Committing fraud or deception in connection with the physical therapist licensing process
- Failing to complete the required continuing education needed for the Board to renew the physical therapist license
- Committing unprofessional conduct that relates to federal or state laws or rules
The Board, through the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, follows certain procedures when someone files a complaint against a physical therapist working in Alaska. Typically, a Division investigator will review the complaint and any evidence submitted with it to make sure the Board has jurisdiction over the matter. For example, most disputes over fees are not considered matters that the Board regulates, and complaints that focus on a fee dispute may be closed.
In cases where the complaint does appear to cover conduct that the Board has the power to regulate, the Division investigator may send an initial letter to the physical therapist named in the complaint. The letter will give them notice of the allegations contained in the complaint, and may ask the physical therapist for records relating to the matter, for an interview with the investigator, or for some other response to the complaint.
This is a key point for any physical therapist – the day they learn that a complaint has been filed against them and that an investigator from the Division of Corporations is looking into the matter. That is the best time to contact the Professional License Defense Team. We can start from day one to help you understand what is going on. We can also be the point of contact between you and the Division’s investigator. And we can help make sure you provide the investigator with information that is responsive to the investigator’s requests and also, to the greatest extent possible, helps defend you and your license.
How Alaska’s Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board Learns About Alleged Misconduct
There are two main routes by which the Board learns of a physical therapist’s alleged misconduct. The first is the complaint process. Anybody can file one by filling out an online form and sending it to the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. The Division has an investigations arm that coordinates with the Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board to gather information in connection with complaints and to determine whether disciplinary proceedings should follow based on that information.
The Board also learns of misconduct when physical therapists self-report criminal convictions and out-of-state discipline as part of the license renewal process. How the Board responds to this self-reporting often depends heavily on the explanation that the physical therapist provides along with the license renewal. By preparing and submitting a detailed explanation of the incident that covers the kinds of issues that the Board will consider when deciding whether to renew the PT’s license, the PT can significantly increase the chances that the Board will approve the renewal despite the conviction or out-of-state discipline.
In both of these situations, the Professional License Defense Team can help. We know how disciplinary investigations work, and what rights you have during that important process. We also know what the Board will consider important when reviewing a license renewal where the PT has disclosed a criminal conviction or disciplinary action from another state. We will use our experience and our understanding of the Board’s concerns to give you the best chance of being able to protect your license.
Investigations of Physical Therapist Misconduct Allegations in Alaska
When a complaint is filed against a physical therapist, assuming it is within the Board’s jurisdiction and there appears to be some evidence to support it, an investigation will occur. As part of this investigation, you may be interviewed by an investigator from the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing if you are the target of the complaint.
It can be very stressful to be interviewed by an investigator whose focus is uncovering evidence that could affect your physical therapist license. Most of us have very little experience with that kind of interview. When you work with the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team, however, you will be prepared for your interview.
We will explain how the process works, and can show you what steps you need to take to make sure you understand the questions you’re being asked, that you focus your answer on the question you’ve been asked, and that you take your time with your responses. We can also be there with you during your interview, protecting your rights and making sure that you only respond to clear, fair questions that you understand.
We will also help you provide any documentation that the Division’s investigator asks for, and can even conduct our own investigation when that is appropriate, looking for information that can support your defense.
When the Division’s investigation is complete, the investigator will review your case with the Division’s Chief Investigator. One or more Board members may also participate in this review. After this review, the Board may decide that more information is needed, in which case the Division’s investigation will continue. It may decide to close the case where there is not enough information to support the misconduct allegation. Or it may decide to move forward with the matter against the physical therapist.
Where the Board decides that there is enough evidence to support the allegations made in the complaint, it will notify the physical therapist that they are under “official investigation.” At this point, the Board will take steps to determine what an appropriate result should be.
In almost all cases, this will involve the Board providing the physical therapist with a proposed consent agreement. The consent agreement will take into account a number of factors, including the evidence against the physical therapist, and will propose some form of discipline. Typical forms of discipline include:
- A reprimand against the physical therapist
- Restrictions on the physical therapist’s ability to practice
- A requirement that the physical therapist take additional continuing education
- Probation, typically with reporting requirements
- Suspension of the physical therapist’s license for a specified period of time
- Revocation of the physical therapist’s license
Consent agreements can typically be negotiated. The Professional License Defense Team understands how to negotiate consent agreements in cases like this, and we regularly negotiate these for our clients where doing so is in the client’s best interests. That said, the final decision about whether to sign a consent agreement is always up to the client.
Matters that don’t resolve themselves with a consent agreement will proceed to a hearing. The Board will forward the case to an Assistant Attorney General, who will be responsible for filing a formal Accusation against the physical therapist. The matter will then proceed to a hearing conducted by the Office of Administrative Hearings, where both sides can produce witnesses and other types of evidence – and challenge the evidence introduced by the other side.
At the close of the hearing, the OAH will provide the Board with a proposed decision and order, which the Board can accept, change, or reject. These decisions can be appealed, in appropriate cases.
The Professional License Defense Team knows what it takes to effectively defend our clients in formal disciplinary hearings. We will protect your rights and fight to protect your license no matter what route you decide to take when it comes to defending your physical therapist license.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team Can Help Protect Your Physical Therapist License in Alaska
You have invested years of effort in earning your physical therapist license in Alaska and building your PT practice. That’s why if you learn that someone has filed a misconduct complaint against you, or if you must notify the Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Board of a criminal conviction or out-of-state discipline, you should contact the Professional License Defense Team for help.
Our attorneys understand how important your physical therapist license is to you. We also know the laws, rules, regulations, and procedures that apply in physical therapist misconduct cases in Alaska, and we are ready to do what it takes to protect your rights and vigorously defend your license and your future. Our attorneys help physical therapists and other licensed professionals protect their licenses in Alaska and all across the country. We are here for you when you need us most – when your license, your livelihood, and your reputation are all on the line.
Call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation where you can tell us about your case, and we can explain the ways we can help.