As a licensed physical therapist working in New Hampshire, you have a unique understanding of all of the time and effort you have put into your profession. Years of specialized education, months of clinical experience, and many hours spent studying for, taking, and passing the National Physical Therapy Examination to secure your certification from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy all mean you have devoted a considerable portion of your life to earning your physical therapist license in New Hampshire.
That is why it is so important that you take it seriously if you are notified by New Hampshire’s Physical Therapy Governing Board that someone has filed a misconduct complaint against you. The best way to do that is to be working with one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team. To learn more about how we can help protect your physical therapist license in New Hampshire, call us at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online 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.
New Hampshire Physical Therapist Licensing
The New Hampshire Physical Therapy Governing Board is responsible for reviewing applications for physical therapist licenses in New Hampshire; issuing licenses to approved applicants; and renewing existing licenses every two years. The Board also monitors compliance with the state’s continuing education requirements for PT licensees, which currently are 24 hours of approved continuing education during each two-year license period.
As part of the license application process, physical therapists are required to submit to a criminal history check. They must also disclose to the Board if they have been disciplined by any other state’s licensing body; if they believe they may be disciplined in the near future; if they have been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor (including guilty and no contest pleas); and if they have or have had an alcohol or drug abuse problem that could affect their ability to practice physical therapy. In those cases, they must provide a “letter of explanation” concerning the matter they are disclosing.
This is where working with one of the experienced attorneys from the Professional License Defense Team can help. We understand the kinds of issues that licensing boards, such as New Hampshire’s Physical Therapy Governing Board, consider important when reviewing applications from physical therapists who may have events such as those described above in their background. How those events are disclosed and explained can make a difference when it comes to approving your application. Our attorneys can help by reviewing your background and working with you to draft a disclosure that will address the Board’s concerns.
The Physical Therapy Governing Board is also responsible for disciplining physical therapists who commit misconduct that relates to their work as a physical therapist or that the Board otherwise considers grounds for discipline. It reviews complaints submitted by the public, investigates those that it has jurisdiction over, and then decides whether or to what extent the PT should be disciplined.
What New Hampshire’s Physical Therapy Governing Board Does When it Comes to Regulating Physical Therapists
When a complaint is received about a physical therapist in New Hampshire, the Physical Therapy Governing Board will review it to make sure the conduct that is described in the complaint is the type of conduct that the Board regulates. If so, and if the complaint appears to allege that the PT committed professional misconduct, the Board will investigate it.
When a physical therapist is disciplined by the Board, the disciplinary action is posted on a dedicated webpage of Board actions that is available to the public. It also becomes part of the PT’s searchable public record. As a result, even sanctions that do not result in a PT’s license being suspended or revoked will be part of the PT’s permanent public record.
The Disciplinary Authority of the New Hampshire Physical Therapy Governing Board
The Physical Therapy Governing Board has the power to discipline physical therapists for a number of different reasons. These include:
- Knowing failure to provide the Board with accurate or truthful information in response to any request from the Board, including during the licensing or license renewal process
- A criminal conviction, other than for a traffic violation
- Failing to report a conviction within 30 days of when it happens
- Engaging in sexual misconduct
- Violating the American Physical Therapy Association’s Code of Ethics
- Failing to provide “care with reasonable skill, safety, and regard for client rights”
- Being unable to provide proper care because of the use of alcohol or drugs, or because of a mental or physical condition
- Being disciplined by a regulatory authority in another state
- Failing to report misconduct committed by any licensed PT within 30 days of when it occurs
- Improperly supervising others who are required to be supervised when practicing physical therapy
- Practicing physical therapy without a license
- Violating any rule adopted by the Board
- Improperly disclosing client confidential information
The Board has procedures in place when a misconduct complaint is filed against a physical therapist. If you have been contacted by the Board about a misconduct complaint that has been filed against you, the best thing you can do for your future is to contact one of the experienced attorneys at the Professional License Defense Team. We know how to protect your rights from the point you are notified by the Board that you have been accused of misconduct, all the way through until your case has been resolved. Our attorneys are ready to fight to protect your rights, your license, and your future in any disciplinary case you may face.
How New Hampshire’s Physical Therapy Governing Board Learns About Alleged Misconduct
The number one way that the New Hampshire Physical Therapy Governing Board learns about alleged misconduct is through the Board’s online complaint system. The Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC), which the Board is part of, maintains a webpage that is focused on the online complaint process. Unlike some other states, in New Hampshire, complaints against physical therapists cannot be filed anonymously, though the person filing the complaint can request that their contact information not be disclosed.
In addition, because licensed physical therapists in New Hampshire are required to disclose criminal convictions, out-of-state discipline, and violations of the Board’s requirements for physical therapists, in many cases potential misconduct may be self-reported by the physical therapist. This is important to understand, because failing to report these matters can be a separate type of misconduct that can make a difficult situation worse.
If you are in a situation where you have an obligation to self-report potential misconduct to the Board, the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team can help you do so in a way that complies with your obligations while increasing your chances of a favorable outcome.
New Hampshire Physical Therapy Governing Board Investigations
There is a process that the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification goes through when it receives information about potential misconduct committed by a physical therapist. It works like this:
- An OPLC attorney will review the complaint to determine whether the issue raised in the complaint could amount to professional misconduct. If it does not, the attorney will recommend that the Physical Therapy Governing Board dismiss the matter.
- If the OPLC attorney believes the conduct described in the complaint could be professional misconduct, the attorney will ask the physical therapist to respond to the complaint.
- Depending on the response, the OPLC attorney will either recommend to the Board that the matter be dismissed, or that the matter be investigated further.
- If the Board decides the matter should be investigated, it will be assigned to an investigator.
- The investigator can interview witnesses, including the physical therapist accused of misconduct, and can subpoena documents that may be relevant to the matter.
- At the close of the investigation, the investigator will submit a report to the Board.
- Based on the report, the Board may dismiss the matter entirely, dismiss the matter but send the physical therapist a confidential letter of concern, or forward the matter to the OPLC’s hearings department for formal disciplinary proceedings.
There are two times during this process when it can be critical to be represented by an experienced professional license defense attorney. The first is when you are invited by OPLC attorney to respond to the complaint. That response can have a significant effect on whether the OPLC attorney recommends that the matter be dismissed.
The second time it can be helpful to be working with an experienced professional license defense attorney is if the matter moves forward to the investigation phase. You will likely be interviewed by the investigator, a process that most of us are not used to. Having to answer questions from someone who is responsible for determining whether we committed misconduct is not a situation most of us experience regularly. Your attorney from the Professional License Defense Team can prepare you for this interview so that you know what to expect, how to listen carefully to what the investigator is asking, and how to provide clear answers to those questions. Your attorney can also be there with you during your interview to help make sure the questions you are asked are clear and fair and that you understand the questions before you respond.
If the matter moves forward to a disciplinary hearing, the case will be handled by the Division of Enforcement and a hearing date will be set. In the vast majority of cases, there will be settlement talks in an effort to resolve the matter without having to go to the actual hearing itself. The Professional License Defense Team can be of enormous help at this stage. Our attorneys have years of experience helping licensed professionals resolve disciplinary matters through settlement agreements, and our goal is to resolve our client’s matter in a way that has as little impact on their ability to practice as possible.
While the majority of disciplinary matters will settle, some don’t. Those will go to a formal hearing stage, whether an attorney from the Division of Enforcement will present evidence against you, and you will have a chance to rebut that evidence and introduce your own evidence in your defense. Here, too, the Professional License Defense Team can help. We regularly appear in hearings of this type and know what it takes to protect your rights and effectively defend you against the charges you’re facing.
At the close of the hearing, the Board and the Presiding Officer will decide whether or not professional misconduct was committed. If the matter is not dismissed, they will also determine what the sanction will be. In some cases, there may be grounds for an appeal.
Sanctions can include the following:
- A requirement that the PT’s practice be supervised for a period of time by another licensed physical therapist
- Suspension of the license, conditioned on the PT successfully completing mental or physical health treatment, a substance abuse rehabilitation program, or a similar program
- Suspension of the license with the requirement that the licensee complete certain remedial courses or training
- Suspension of the license for a designated period of time
- Revocation of the license
- A fine of up to $1000 for certain types of violations
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team Can Help Protect Your Physical Therapist License in New Hampshire
It can be very stressful to learn that someone has filed a misconduct complaint against you, especially if it is a complaint that could result in your physical therapist license being suspended or revoked. Losing the ability to work as a physical therapist, even for a time, can have a significant impact on your ability to earn a living, not to mention on your reputation as a PT.
The Professional License Defense Team can help. Our experienced attorneys understand the laws, rules, regulations, and procedures that apply in OPLC misconduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings in New Hampshire. We regularly represent professional licensees, including physical therapists, who are being investigated because of alleged misconduct, and we understand the concerns and pressures that misconduct proceedings can cause. We know how to protect your rights, and what it takes to effectively defend you against misconduct allegations. We also know that you may have questions about what’s going to happen; we are ready to answer those from day one.
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 to discuss your case. Your physical therapist license is your most important personal asset – let us help you protect it!