Physical therapists are regulated and examined by the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts. As a licensed professional in the State of Missouri, you worked hard to become a physical therapist. Your ability to provide for yourself and your family is dependent on your ability to practice as a physical therapist, and your license is your most valuable professional commodity. However, if you are found to have violated professional standards or engaged in misconduct, the Board of Registration for the Healing Arts is granted the authority to take disciplinary action against you.
The Lento Law Firm and its Professional License Defense Team has many years of experience defending physical therapists. We are available to help throughout Missouri, including in and around:
- Columbia;
- Independence;
- Jefferson City;
- Joplin;
- Kansas City;
- St. Joseph; and
- St. Louis.
Call 888-535-3686 or fill out our confidential contact form to speak to a member of our staff regarding your case. Our team of knowledgeable professionals stands ready to help you defend yourself against even the most serious allegations.
The Authority of the Board of Registration for the Healing Arts
The Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts (Board) regulates both physical therapists and physical therapist assistants practicing in Missouri. Missouri law makes it illegal to act as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant without a license. The Board is responsible for the licensing and registration of these professionals and setting standards for continuing education. The Board is also in charge of disciplining physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who breach professional standards or engage in misconduct.
Under Missouri law, the Board has broad authority to suspend or even revoke the license of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. Years and years of hard work and effort, not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars of future income, can be lost if your license is suspended or revoked. It is vitally important to understand the relevant Missouri rules and regulations and obtain legal representation if your license becomes at risk due to a proceeding before the Board. Let the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team assist you so that you can preserve your license and continue your valuable practice.
Discipline Under the Missouri Physical Therapy Practice Act
The Missouri Physical Therapy Practice Act identifies the standards of practice for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants and outlines the legal procedure if a complaint against a licensee is made. If a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant has been found to have engaged in misconduct or otherwise violated the Act, he or she could have their license suspended or revoked. Fines up to $5,000 could also be imposed in certain circumstances.
The Act specifies the standards that physical therapists and physical therapist assistants must adhere to and provides the procedure for determining whether a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant has committed misconduct.
Chapters 613 and 615 of the Act list the various circumstances under which the Board may bring proceedings to discipline a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. The grounds for misconduct are numerous and include:
- Use of any controlled substance or alcoholic beverage to the extent that it impairs a licensee's ability to perform the work of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant
- The physical therapist or physical therapist assistant has been found guilty of or pleaded guilty to any crime that directly relates to his or her duties
- Using fraud, deception, bribery, or other unlawful means to obtain a license to act as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant
- Misconduct, fraud, misrepresentation, or dishonesty in the performance of functions as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant, including the following:
- Obtaining or attempting to obtain any fee, charge, or other compensation by fraud or deception
- Willfully overcharging or overtreating patients
- Charging for sessions of physical therapy that did not occur or were not placed in the patient's record
- Attempting by intimidation, coercion, or deception to prevent any patient from obtaining a second opinion or consultation
- Willfully and continuously providing unnecessary or inappropriate treatment or services
- Delegating treatment or services to another person who is unlicensed or unqualified to perform such services
- Misrepresenting that any condition can be cured by a treatment or service
- Performing any services that have been declared by the Board to be of no physical therapy value
- Final disciplinary action by any hospital, facility, society, or association in Missouri or any other state that has resulted in the removal, suspension, or restriction of that person's privileges or professional employment
- Administering treatment without sufficient examination
- Engaging in or soliciting any sexual relationship, whether consensual or non-consensual, with a current patient
- Making sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, or engaging in other conduct of a sexual nature with patients
- Terminating patient care without adequate notice or failing to make other arrangements for the care of the patient
- Failing to provide records of a patient's care to the patient's physician or other healthcare provider
- Promoting false or misleading advertising, or which violates any rule of the Board
- Advertising medical or physical claims that are unsubstantiated
- Any conduct or practice that constitutes gross negligence or repeated negligence in the performance of the duties of the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant
- Revocation, suspension, restriction, warning, censure, probation, or other final disciplinary action against a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant in another state or jurisdiction
- Assisting or enabling any person to practice or offer to practice who is not licensed
- Knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement in any document executed in connection with the practice of physical therapy
- Misleading the public as to the need or necessity for or appropriateness of physical therapy services;
- Defrauding Social Security
- Failure or refusal to properly guard against contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases
- Payment of improper referral fees
- Failing to maintain adequate patient records
Procedural Rules Governing Allegations of Misconduct
Missouri law specifies the procedures for complaints lodged against physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Upon receipt of information that the actions of a licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant may present a clear and present danger to the public health and safety, the executive director shall direct that the information be brought to the Board. The Board may then suspend or restrict the license of the licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. In making that determination, the Board is not required to even provide notice of the allegation to the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. Only after a decision has been made must notice be given. Due to the fact that a temporary suspension may have already been imposed, it is vitally important to seek legal representation as soon as notice is received.
The Board is then required to file a complaint with the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission (Commission) with a request for an expedited preliminary hearing. Immediately upon receipt of a complaint filed under this section, the Commission shall set the place and date of the expedited preliminary hearing, which shall be conducted as soon as possible but not later than five days after the date of service upon the licensee. This accelerated timetable again underscores the importance of obtaining legal representation as soon as possible.
If requested by the licensee, the Board shall grant a licensee's request for a delay of the preliminary hearing; however, the Board's suspension or restriction shall remain in place. The preliminary hearing shall be held not later than 45 days. If you receive a notice of a proceeding, you have the right to contact an attorney and obtain legal representation at that time. Often, engaging an attorney in the early stages of the process can have a positive effect on the outcome.
At the preliminary hearing, the Commission shall receive into evidence all information certified by the Board and shall only hear evidence on the issue of whether the Board's order of suspension or restriction should be terminated or modified. Within one hour after the preliminary hearing, the Commission shall issue its oral or written preliminary order that adopts, terminates, or modifies the Board's order.
The preliminary order of the Commission shall become a final order and shall remain in effect for three years unless either party files a request for a full hearing within 30 days from the date of the issuance of the preliminary order. If an adverse decision is made against you at this time, you must request a final hearing, or your punishment will be permanent. Hiring legal representation will ensure that your request is made in time and that you retain all of your legal rights.
The Commission shall set a date for a hearing and notify the parties in writing of the time and place of the hearing. The hearing will be conducted in accordance with Section 621 of the Act. The Commission is required to make its findings within 120 days of the full hearing. The Commission may make recommendations as to appropriate disciplinary action, but any such recommendations shall not be binding upon the Board.
A copy of the Commission's findings shall be delivered to both the Board and the licensee. Within 30 days, the Board shall set a date for the final hearing. If not contested by either the Board or the licensee, the recommendations of the Commission shall become the order of the Board. The licensee may appear at said hearing and be represented by counsel. The Board may receive evidence from the licensee or any other source. Having counsel represent you at this stage of the proceeding is of utmost importance, as this will be the last opportunity to defend yourself.
Why You Should Hire a Lawyer
Although you have the right to defend yourself in any hearing before the Board and/or the Commission, you do so at your own risk. In Missouri, the Board is authorized to impose temporary discipline against you without notice. This lack of due process makes hiring an attorney even more important. Due to the stakes involved, including suspension or revocation of your license, every complaint should be taken seriously. Even if you believe that the complaint against you is frivolous or unsubstantiated, the risks are too great to defend yourself without a qualified attorney by your side.
Unlike criminal matters, you are not innocent until proven guilty in any proceeding before the Board. Although the Board has the burden of proof in any preliminary or final hearing, a “preponderance of the evidence” standard is used. That means that if the Board finds that it is more likely than not that you committed an infraction, they will find you guilty. This standard is especially crucial in these types of proceedings where the finding of guilt or innocence is often determined based on the word of one person against another person. This can often lead to unjust outcomes and erroneous findings. Engaging an experienced attorney to stand by your side will enhance your chances of avoiding discipline.
Consequences of a Finding of Misconduct
If a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant is found to be guilty of misconduct, the Board may impose one or more of the following:
- A warning, censure, or probation for a period of up to ten years
- A private or public reprimand
- A suspension of the physical therapist's or physical therapist assistant's license of up to ten years
- Require that the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant be supervised by a physician at the expense of the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant
- Require that the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant attend continuing medical education classes
- A restriction of the physical therapist's or physical therapist assistant's license
- A complete revocation of the physical therapist's or physical therapist assistant's license
Before restoring to good standing a license that has been revoked, suspended, or inactive for more than two years, the Board may require the applicant to attend continuing medical education courses and pass an examination.
How We Can Help
The Professional Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm has experience in dealing with professional misconduct allegations. We have worked with physical therapists nationwide to assist them against even the most serious charges. We understand the devastating professional and reputational consequences that can result from a proceeding being brought against you.
We stand ready to:
- Thoroughly review the allegations against you;
- Conduct an investigation to ensure that all relevant facts are brought before the Board and/or the Commission;
- Represent you during the entire process with the goal of having the complaint dismissed;
- Potentially negotiate with the Board in order to have the penalties mitigated;
- Fully defend you before the Board or Commission in any hearing.
Your license is too valuable to take any complaint against you lightly. You need a strong team on your side to defend you and help you maintain your license and mitigate any penalties. Our Professional License Defense Team has the experience you need. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or fill out our confidential contact form.
