Kansas City's pharmacists pour years of their lives and hard work into education and training to secure their licenses. Unfortunately, many pharmacists eventually face the harsh reality that a single accusation of misconduct can jeopardize everything. Whether you work at a CVS in Overland Park, a Walgreens in Lee's Summit, or a hospital like Saint Luke's or North Kansas City, your career requires you to maintain adherence to a nearly endless list of state regulations. The Missouri Board of Pharmacy and the Kansas State Board of Pharmacy each wield immense authority to initiate audits, investigate complaints, and discipline pharmacists. Even a seemingly minor dispensing error, a late license renewal, or an unfounded accusation can result in heavy fines and long suspensions.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team has the skills needed to defend pharmacists across the Kansas City metro area, from Independence to Olathe and beyond. Our team has many years of experience defending pharmacists not only in Missouri but also in Kansas and coast-to-coast. This means our team is especially prepared to defend pharmacists licensed in multiple states. Do not let a complaint or audit dismantle your professional achievements. Call us at 888-535-3686 or reach out using our online form to secure your defense today.
Why Kansas City Pharmacists Need a Proactive License Defense
Pharmacists in the Kansas City area operate under the watchful eyes of two regulatory bodies. Missouri's Board of Pharmacy, based in Jefferson City as part of the Division of Professional Registration, prioritizes public safety above all else. The Kansas Board of Pharmacy, headquartered in Topeka, similarly prioritizes public health. Both Missouri and Kansas have publicly available licensee searches that can report discipline from across the country.
When either board opens an investigation, the consequences of inaction are severe. A public reprimand in Missouri's database or Kansas' public license verification system can instantly tarnish your reputation. Suspensions halt your ability to work, putting strain on your finances and future job prospects. A revocation can bar you from practicing in either state, with reciprocal agreements potentially extending penalties nationwide. Our team works to prevent these outcomes, negotiating with board investigators to secure dismissals or lesser sanctions.
Kansas City Pharmacists Face Unique License Challenges
The Kansas City metropolitan area is almost perfectly straddled between Kansas and Missouri. As a result, many pharmacists here are licensed in both states. A common misconception is that having licensure in two states serves as insurance in case one of the licenses is revoked. Unfortunately, that is not the case. On the contrary, pharmacists with dual licensure must oversee two different boards of pharmacy and comply with two sets of regulations. Like the phrase “more money, more problems”, pharmacists often face the issue of “more states, more discipline.”
Even if a Kansas City area pharmacist is not fully licensed in multiple states, they still may face discipline from the other state. For example, Kansas allows registered out-of-state pharmacies to dispense drugs to patients in Kansas. By doing so, out-of-state pharmacists face potential discipline in Kansas. The Missouri Board of Pharmacy, using its power to enforce reciprocal discipline, can then discipline a pharmacist who is licensed only in Missouri.
Kansas law gives multiple grounds for pharmacist discipline. Missouri law also lists several offenses that could result in discipline, but also gives the Missouri Board broad discretion to investigate other offenses not listed. Regardless of the state, both boards tend to discipline pharmacists for a similar range of issues. Many of these issues involve:
- Accusations of Bad Conduct. One of the most common examples is pharmacists who suffer from addiction and/or use drugs and alcohol while on the job. Other common examples include improperly keeping records, which may also lead to accusations of the unlawful diversion of controlled substances or the falsification of records.
- Administrative Oversights. These charges are especially common in areas where pharmacists commonly hold multiple licenses. For example, a pharmacist may renew their license in Kansas but forget to renew their license in Missouri. The pharmacist might then practice in Missouri, mistakenly thinking all is well. Unfortunately, this can result in severe sanctions from the Missouri Board and then equally severe reciprocal discipline from the Kansas Board.
- Bureaucratic Challenges. Like administrative oversights, bureaucratic issues tend to be more common in areas where dual licensure is common. Frequent examples include failure to comply with both Missouri and Kansas's inspection requirements or delegating a task to a technician that might be permissible in one state but is forbidden in the other.
Kansas City pharmacists are often faced with the herculean task of consistently complying with multiple sets of regulations that are often unclear and contradictory. As a result, many good pharmacists find themselves under investigation even though they did their best to do everything by the book.
The Lento Law Firm Team is ready to help you fight the allegations and preserve your good name. From the very beginning, we analyze the board's complaints, identify mitigating evidence, and negotiate resolutions that minimize career disruption. Our team's experience in Missouri, Kansas, and multi-jurisdictional licensing cases equips us to handle the unique issues faced by Kansas City area pharmacists.
Confronting Disciplinary Proceedings in Kansas City
Aside from organic chemistry, a disciplinary proceeding may be the most confusing, overwhelming, and stressful experience that a pharmacist goes through. To make it even worse, Kansas and Missouri use different procedures when investigating a complaint or conducting an audit. While both systems ostensibly provide due process, pharmacists rarely have the legal knowledge or the time to invoke all their rights and use all of their options.
Acting like an ostrich and hiding your head in the sand will not help you here. If you do not address the allegations or the board's concerns, you leave the future of your career in the hands of strangers. A simple misunderstanding could result in you losing your license if you are not there to tell your story.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team is here to advocate on your behalf while you focus on your practice. Our team can help respond to formal inquiries and handle correspondence with investigators, which saves you time and prevents accidental oversharing. We aim to secure dismissals or negotiate settlements that preserve your ability to practice.
By taking a cooperative approach, our attorneys have successfully proposed alternative resolutions like voluntary compliance plans that address board concerns without public discipline. This approach minimizes disruptions for pharmacists. This is particularly helpful in suburban areas such as Belton or Raymore, where communities are small and tightly knit. If negotiations break down, our experienced attorneys can represent you in hearings, ensuring your evidence is properly submitted and persuasively arguing for your best interest.
Kansas City Pharmacists Face a Long Road When Defending Their Licenses
Pharmacists in Kansas City face a litany of potential sanctions. While both Missouri and Kansas issue similar penalties, their respective boards have different powers granted to them by state law. Additionally, the boards use different investigative procedures and follow different timelines. However, both states tend to generally follow this order of events:
- Complaint. Most investigations arise from a complaint following an audit or a poor customer service interaction. Missouri allows for complaints to be submitted online or by mail. Kansas accepts complaints via an online form, mail, or fax. After a complaint has been received, staff review the complaint to see if it has jurisdiction to investigate.
- Investigation. If the complaint has merit and the board has jurisdiction, typically an investigation will follow. The investigator may examine your records, conduct unannounced audits, or interview the complainant and any witnesses. Once you become aware of a complaint filed against you, you should retain the Lento Law Firm to help prevent the investigation from escalating.
- Formal or Informal Hearings. Depending on the severity of the allegations, you may have a hearing before the board or an administrative law judge (ALJ). Both sides present evidence, call witnesses, and make their case. The board will review the record and issue a final order.
- Appeals. If the hearing results in an unfavorable outcome, you can petition the board to reconsider your case. Additionally, both Missouri and Kansas allow you to appeal the board's decision in court, where the decision can be overturned, changed, or vacated and sent back to the board for a rehearing.
During all stages of the process, the Lento Law Firm focuses on preserving your career. At all stages of the process, we routinely negotiate directly with the boards of both Kansas and Missouri to end investigations early and aim to keep discipline off your license. If needed, our team of professional license defense lawyers can provide aggressive representation in both hearings and court.
Sanctions and Mitigation Strategies for Kansas City Pharmacists
Missouri's Board of Pharmacy can issue fines, usually starting at $1000 per infraction. The Missouri Board can also suspend your license for up to three years. In severe cases, your license could even be permanently revoked.
Kansas's Board has similar power. They can enforce fines of up to $5,000 for each violation. While the Kansas Board can suspend licenses, they are typically limited to one year. This is because even if one's license is revoked, they can apply for reinstatement after one year.
By addressing the allegations early, the Lento Law Firm can use multiple mitigation strategies to negotiate these penalties down. Some of the mitigation strategies our team uses include:
- Demonstrating Compliance. We compile evidence of corrective actions, such as updated record-keeping protocols or attending substance abuse counseling. Boards rarely want to punish pharmacists for the sake of punishment. Instead, they usually want to see that you take the allegations seriously.
- Highlighting Professional Competence: Our team has a network of expert witnesses in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. They can review your record and testify that you adhered to the industry's ethical standards.
- Negotiating Non-Disciplinary Resolutions: From the very beginning, our team strives to get complaints dismissed. In the alternative, we aim for non-disciplinary approaches or for the discipline to stay informal and off the record. Secondary consequences, such as the loss of your professional reputation and the community's trust, can be worse than anything the Board can inflict.
Pursuing License Reinstatement in Kansas City
For pharmacists facing suspension or revocation, the path to reinstatement provides an on-ramp back to the profession. Suspensions tend to last for either a set period of time or until certain conditions (e.g., completing ethics training) are met. Once you meet the conditions for reinstatement, your reapplication will be granted without much trouble. But if your license is revoked, you face a long and difficult road to get your license back. Both states will demand strong evidence of your rehabilitation before considering allowing you back in.
The Lento Law Firm Team streamlines this process. We gather persuasive documentation, such as letters from employers or clients that attest to your competence. Our team also assists in drafting your reapplication, addressing the past without dwelling on it.
Kansas City Pharmacists Need the Lento Law Firm's Driven License Defense
A single allegation can unravel the decades it took to earn the title of “pharmacist” and build your professional reputation. Whether you face a Missouri Board of Pharmacy investigation for a dispensing error or a Kansas audit over record keeping, your license is on the line. Public sanctions can disrupt employment at major employers like HCA Midwest Health in Overland Park. For those working in smaller or independent pharmacies, you can be stripped of the community trust your business relies on.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team confronts these challenges with unwavering resolve. From negotiating the dismissal of a complaint to pursuing reinstatement following revocation, our team is there to help no matter where you are in the process. We serve pharmacists in Kansas City, Overland Park, and beyond, delivering defenses tailored to each of our clients. Do not let an administrative oversight or unfounded complaint take its toll on you any longer. Call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or contact us using our online form to preserve your career.
