Denver has a great mix of academic centers, community hospitals, and busy outpatient groups that allow local physicians to explore their options and build a career on their own terms. As a Denver physician, your day-to-day concerns likely focus on patient care and workplace struggles. However, the risk of complaints and misconduct allegations is always present in the background, and one singular investigation into your conduct may be enough to bring your physician career to a screeching halt.
When the Colorado Medical Board starts investigating you, there are very few things more important. A bad outcome in your disciplinary case has the potential to end your career forever, both here in Denver and elsewhere in the state and country. If your Colorado physician license is at risk in the Denver area, call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online. Our Professional License Defense Team will coordinate with the Colorado Medical Board during disciplinary proceedings and protect your ability to keep practicing in Denver, Aurora, and the rest of the Denver metro area.
Physician Regulation and Licensing Authority in Colorado
The Colorado Medical Board, within the Division of Professions and Occupations, has the job of protecting patients and the public through administering the state’s Medical Practice Act. This law gives the Board many powers and duties, including:
- Promulgating fair and impartial rules for the practice of medicine.
- Conducting investigations and holding hearings in matters within its authority.
- Enforcing the Medical Practice Act and disciplining violations.
- Adopting rules regarding continuing medical education for physicians to keep Colorado patients safe from medical harm.
Through these powers, the Board sets standards for licensure to prevent incompetent or unethical physicians from practicing in Colorado. And unfortunately, complaints against you may lead the Board to investigate your conduct and take away your license—if you don’t put up a strong defense to allegations of misconduct.
The Colorado Medical Board is not on your side. In fact, it’s the opposite. If they have good reason to believe that your continued practice as a physician is a risk to Denver patients, they will likely sanction your license and limit your practice. The LLF National Law Firm should be your first call whenever you learn of pending Board investigations, giving our Professional License Defense Team ample time to craft a solid rebuttal to allegations and protect your career from further harm.
Colorado Grounds for Physician Discipline
Before the Colorado Medical Board can discipline you or sanction your license, they must identify and prove valid grounds for discipline, many of which focus on safe patient care and treatment. Some of the most common grounds for physician discipline in Denver include:
- Using lies or deception to obtain or renew a Colorado medical license.
- Using alcohol, drugs, or any substance in a way that makes you unable to practice safely and with sound judgment.
- Disobeying a valid Colorado Medical Board order or breaking a valid Board rule.
- Being convicted of a felony or any crime that would violate the Medical Practice Act.
- Falling below generally accepted standards of medical practice.
- Failing to self-report a medical, behavioral, or substance condition that impairs safe practice.
- Having sexual contact with a current or recent patient.
- Committing health insurance abuse.
- Prescribing, dispensing, or administering controlled substances outside legitimate medical practice.
- Failing to report license action taken by authorities in other jurisdictions outside of Colorado.
- Giving inaccurate answers on the required license renewal questionnaire.
- Aiding or allowing an unlicensed person to practice medicine.
- Falsifying chart entries or repeatedly making essential charting errors.
- Committing a fraudulent insurance act.
- Failing to respond to a Board complaint honestly and on time.
- Participating in advertising that is misleading, deceptive, or false.
- Providing telemedicine care that does not meet accepted standards of medical practice.
- Failing to comply with Colorado’s medical marijuana laws.
- Failing to complete required continuing medical education or to produce proof of completion to the Board.
This is not an exhaustive list, and if you have received notice of any concerns from the Board, you must take action as soon as you can. The LLF National Law Firm will assist you in evaluating the situation, gathering initial evidence, and planning a defense that minimizes the risk of license sanctions. Your physician license is worth protecting, and our Professional License Defense Team is here to help.
Colorado Physician Disciplinary Process
There’s no time to waste when your physician license in Colorado is under threat. Discipline can have long-lasting effects even when terms later end or are modified. Don’t underestimate the significant career setbacks that come with license sanctions, and get in touch with the LLF National Law Firm at the start of your disciplinary case. Our Professional License Defense Team will communicate with investigators, Board staff, and judges on your behalf to simplify Colorado’s physician disciplinary process and work toward the best resolution possible.
Complaint Intake
Your disciplinary case begins when the Colorado Medical Board receives a complaint or initiates one on its own when it learns of potential violations of the Medical Practice Act or Board rules. Complaints commonly come from patients, family members of patients, hospitals, insurers, and mandatory reporters.
Before the Board starts an official investigation, it conducts an initial screen for reasonable cause and jurisdiction. Board staff will dismiss matters that clearly lack merit or lack enough information for the Board to act. Otherwise, complaints with valid, reasonable allegations proceed to a formal investigation.
Notice and Response
If the case proceeds, you will receive notice from the Board explaining the nature of the complaint and allegations. The Board provides you with the opportunity to respond and to submit information and witnesses that explain the situation or provide context. If you are currently faced with a Board notice, now is the time to get in touch with the LLF National Law Firm. Our Professional License Defense Team will handle every aspect of your case—responses, negotiations, evidence gathering, and more—to protect your Colorado license and career.
Investigation
Cases that the Board does not close at screening are sent to the Office of Investigations. Investigators review the complaint, gather pertinent evidence such as records and interviews, and will likely reach out and request either additional information or an interview. As part of their investigation, investigators can also consult physician experts to determine whether your actions do not fit accepted standards.
At the conclusion of the investigation, investigators prepare a Report of Investigation for the Board. The Board uses these investigative details and the report’s conclusions to determine whether to pursue disciplinary action and license sanctions.
Investigators aim to conclude investigations within six months, but complex cases can drag on even longer. The LLF National Law Firm can represent you during investigations to present mitigating circumstances and evidence, helping build a favorable Report of Investigation that reduces the odds of Board sanctions.
Informal Outcomes
After the Colorado Medical Board reviews the Report of Investigation, it has a few options based on the details of the case. First, it can dismiss the case, ending your case and resulting in no punishment or discipline of any kind. In addition, it can issue a confidential letter of concern, which is non-disciplinary, or a letter of admonition, which is public and part of your disciplinary record. For more serious cases, the Board can also send the case to the Expedited Settlement Program (ESP) to pursue a negotiated resolution.
A Settlement Specialist at ESP will reach out with a settlement offer, and the LLF National Law Firm can use this time to seek less severe sanctions, favorable outcomes, and a quick resolution to your case. Settlements are agreements between you and ESP, but they still lead to public orders by the Board. Our Professional License Defense Team will help decide when negotiations are the best option as opposed to fighting the allegations during formal prosecution.
Formal Charges and Hearings
If the Board authorizes discipline and the case does not resolve through ESP, the Board refers the case to the Office of the Attorney General. An assistant attorney general files formal charges that identify the alleged violations of the Medical Practice Act or Board rules.
An administrative law judge (ALJ) will oversee your disciplinary case, which looks and feels a lot like a civil trial. Both sides present documents, witnesses, and expert testimony, and the LLF National Law Firm can handle all aspects of your case. After the hearing, the ALJ issues a written initial decision with their recommended outcome.
Final Board Order
Despite the ALJ overseeing the case and issuing their recommendation, the Colorado Medical Board still has ultimate authority to issue the final order. The Board may adopt, modify, or reject parts of the judge’s analysis based on its own understanding of law and your conduct. If a violation is established, the final order may impose discipline, including the following sanctions:
- Letter of admonition, which is a public reprimand
- Probation
- Continuing education requirements
- Administrative fines
- Suspension of license
- Revocation of license
Once you receive a Board order with significant sanctions and license restrictions, you have limited opportunities to rectify the situation. Underestimating the risks of license investigations introduces tremendous uncertainty to your career, especially if the complaint made against you contains allegations of serious misconduct.
The earlier you get legal assistance, the better your odds of a successful physician license defense. However, the LLF National Law Firm is ready to step in at any point in the process to protect your career in the Denver Metro area. If you received notice from the Colorado Medical Board or are already in the midst of investigations and negotiations, contact our Professional License Defense Team as soon as possible.
Appealing Colorado Medical Board Discipline
The Board order is the last step of the disciplinary process, but it is not your final chance to keep your license clear of sanctions. Following an order, you can seek judicial review in the Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver. However, grounds for appeals are extremely limited, and the most effective option is to work with the LLF National Law Firm throughout your disciplinary proceedings and secure a favorable outcome and order. Valid grounds for appeal under Colorado law include:
- The order is arbitrary or capricious.
- The Board abused its discretion.
- The Board acted beyond its jurisdiction or authority.
- The order is contrary to a constitutional right or privilege.
- The Board failed to observe procedures required by law.
- The findings are not supported by substantial evidence.
- The order is contrary to law.
These standards have real consequences and ramifications for your license. The Court of Appeals reviews the case solely on the existing record and does not hear new witnesses or accept new exhibits. You must identify and appeal based on valid grounds, not simply because you disagree with the outcome. The LLF National Law Firm plans for appeals during the disciplinary case by making sure the final order accurately states the facts and identifying procedural errors that work in your favor.
In addition to limited grounds for appeal, the timeframe for appeals is narrow. You only have forty-nine days after the Board enters its final written order, and missing that deadline can end your right to review before it begins. If you received a final order from the Colorado Medical Board and you are considering an appeal, contact our Professional License Defense Team right away. Giving us as much time as possible to review your case and identify valid grounds for appeal increases your odds of success and helps protect your physician’s license and career in Denver.
Keep Your Colorado Physician License Free of Sanctions with the LLF National Law Firm
Colorado’s physician disciplinary process is unforgiving, and the Denver market is, too. To protect your career and opportunities following a Board complaint, you need Professional License Defense attorneys who fully understand how the Colorado Medical Board operates and what they want to hear.
If your license is at risk, call today at 888-535-3686 or contact us through our confidential online form. The LLF National Law Firm will immediately get started on your case, gather evidence in your favor, negotiate with the Colorado Medical Board, and defend your ability to keep practicing in the Denver metro area.