Texas License News Part 1: TMB Replaces Disciplinary Action with Letters
Healthcare providers in Texas experience undue stress when the state’s medical licensing board notifies them of a complaint. It doesn’t have to be this way, writes TMB president Dr. Sherif Zaafran in the organization’s quarterly bulletin. “Although the law prescribes specific sanctions for certain violations, thereby limiting the Board’s flexibility in these cases,” he says, “there is room for discretion in other areas.”
TMB is starting its reforms with the introduction of warning letters and letters of concern into its progressive discipline process. The two letters function differently and address different kinds of complaints, but both are intended to replace more draconian disciplinary actions and reduce the burden of license defense on busy healthcare professionals.
This is good news for Texas doctors, nurses, and other licensed providers, but it doesn’t mean you should place all your faith in TMB’s commitment to your best interests. If you receive a warning letter or a letter of concern, you’ll still need to keep a close eye on the Board’s due process. Because these letters remain on your record, you’ll also need to challenge any inaccuracies or misunderstandings. Send the Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm a message today and tell us what’s going on, or call us directly at 888-535-3686. We’ll fight for the best possible outcome in your case.
Warning Letters from the Texas Medical Licensing Board
Texas isn’t exactly inventing the wheel here. California, New York, and Florida, for example, issue warning letters (they call them “educational letters,” or “advisory letters,” or “letters of guidance,” but functionally they’re the same thing). Arizona, Colorado, and Washington issue letters of concern.
In Texas, as elsewhere, warning letters resolve complaints about administrative missteps, such as billing errors or missing continuing education credits, and are non-disciplinary. They can’t be issued in response to complaints that allege the following:
- A lapse in patient safety or the standard of care
- Substance abuse or impairment
- Boundary violations
- Previous complaints and Board action about the same issue
The warning letter will identify the action the provider needs to take to remedy the problem; when the provider submits proof that the action is complete, TMB will dismiss the matter and won’t report it to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) or other entity. It will stay in the Board’s files, though, in case of any future complaints.
Letters of Concern from the Texas Medical Licensing Board
Texas’s letters of concern are also non-disciplinary. The difference is that letters of concern address complaints that allege a failure to meet the standard of care — so long, that is, that the failure does not involve a patient’s death or serious injury, or a sexual transgression.
Also, unlike warning letters, letters of concern are issued only after the Board has conducted an investigation, the provider has responded, and the matter has been reviewed by an “expert panelist.” The purpose of the letter of concern is to replace disciplinary action with, as Dr. Zaafran puts it, an opportunity for the provider to “closely review the care provided in the case, reflect on the experts’ findings outlined in the panelist report, and use it as an opportunity to evaluate their current practices to prevent similar issues in the future.”
As with warning letters, letters of concern put an end to the matter of the complaint, and stay on file with the TMB in case of a second incident.
Call the Professional License Defense Team
The TMB’s new approach might sound more humane and bring it into alignment with other states with similar practices, but no Texas healthcare professional should let their guard down if someone files a complaint against them. The LLF National Law Firm works with providers in all of these states and knows what it takes to ensure a fair process and protect a hard-earned license to practice. Call our Professional License Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or send us a message online.