Whether you're working at a retail pharmacy or a pharmaceutical company, your job as a pharmacist is important. You worked incredibly hard, countless hours in school, studying for licensure, and spent a great deal of money on your education. You were rewarded with a Wisconsin or Minnesota pharmacist license and a job in the Twin Cities for all your hard work. But now you've been accused of professional misconduct, and your entire career and life could be derailed.
At the Lento Law Firm, we are here to help. Our Professional License Defense Team has defended countless pharmacists in the Twin Cities, ensuring they get the best possible outcome and mitigate damage to their careers. Let us fight to preserve your Twin Cities pharmacist license; retain the Lento Law Firm today by calling us at 888-535-3686 or contacting us online.
Allegations That Can Threaten Your Twin Cities Pharmacist License
Many behaviors can result in a complaint and disciplinary action against you and your Twin Cities pharmacist license. At the Lento Law Firm, we've seen pharmacists face sanctions for everything from administrative errors to actual patient harm. The most common allegations of misconduct our Professional License Defense Team attorneys see include:
- Acts of fraud or deception, such as altering prescriptions or billing for drugs not provided to the patient
- Errors in dispensing medication
- Diverting drugs for personal use or resale purposes
- Breaching patient confidentiality
- Failing to report a colleague's misconduct, such as drug diversion
- Practicing while impaired by alcohol or an illicit substance
- Conviction of a felony
- Failure to comply with training or educational requirements
- Failure to maintain accurate prescription transaction records
Disciplinary Action Process for Pharmacist Misconduct in the Twin Cities
The disciplinary action process for you as a Twin Cities pharmacist will look slightly different based on where you are licensed. While the area is called the Twin Cities after Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, the metropolitan area also includes Hudson, Stillwater, and Elmwood in Wisconsin. The Minnesota pharmacist disciplinary action process and the Wisconsin pharmacist disciplinary action process work a little differently.
Disciplinary Action Process for Twin Cities Pharmacists in Minnesota
If you're a pharmacist in the Minnesota part of the Twin Cities and are accused of misconduct, the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy will handle your case.
Complaint
The Board of Pharmacy will immediately review complaints against pharmacists on the Minnesota side of the Twin Cities to ensure it has jurisdiction. For example, if the complaint concerns a fee dispute or is about something that isn't a violation of any Minnesota pharmacy laws, regulations, or standards of care, it will be dismissed. Once the Board of Pharmacy verifies it has jurisdiction over the complaint, it will open an investigation.
It is crucial to contact the Lento Law Firm the moment you become aware that a complaint has been filed against you. Your best chance of obtaining a positive outcome in your case is to get a Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team attorney defending you from the start.
Investigation
When the Board of Pharmacy opens an investigation, it is handled by one of its surveyors and, in some cases, both a surveyor and an attorney from the Office of the Attorney General. The investigation will include interviewing you, witnesses, and colleagues, as well as collecting documentation and evidence.
Complaint Review
Once the attorney and surveyor complete their investigation, they will meet with the Complaint Review Panel, which includes two members of the Board of Pharmacy, the executive director, and the deputy director. At this meeting, they will decide if the case should be pursued further. This course of action is appropriate only when the surveyor has been able to substantiate the allegations. But just because the allegations are substantiated doesn't mean the case will progress. In cases involving only minor infractions, the case may also be dismissed at this stage.
This is one important reason to have retained the Lento Law Firm early on. When your attorney is able to present a vigorous defense and negotiate during the investigation process, even if you are guilty, they may be able to successfully convince the Complaint Review Panel that your infraction wasn't serious enough to go through the formal disciplinary action process. Your Professional License Defense Team attorney will work to either get your case dismissed or work to reach a settlement, which the Board of Pharmacy calls an Agreement for Corrective Action.
Another outcome of the Complaint Review Panel meeting may be to conduct an even more in-depth investigation. A conference will be scheduled if the Board of Pharmacy decides to pursue the case further.
Conference
The conference is your opportunity to meet one-on-one with the Board of Pharmacy's Committee on Professional Standards. At the conference, you and your Lento Law Firm attorney will present your side of the story, defend your case, and put forward supporting evidence. This is also a prime opportunity for your Lento Law Firm attorney to negotiate a settlement.
If you cannot reach a settlement with the Board of Pharmacy that works for you, the Committee will issue a determination on what sanctions, if any, are appropriate in your case. The Committee may:
- Dismiss the complaint
- Issue a reprimand
- License Restrictions
- Consent order
- Suspension
- Revocation
- Request for voluntary surrender
- Issue a civil penalty/fine
Hearing
It might feel like the Board of Pharmacy's determination is the end of the road for you, but that isn't the case. You are entitled to have a formal administrative hearing of your case to further defend yourself. Hearings work like a trial, and your Lento Law Firm attorney will represent you during the proceeding. Hearings are held before an Administrative Law Judge, who will ultimately make a determination recommending disciplinary action or no disciplinary action. The Board of Pharmacy will take the ALJ's decision under advisement and make a final decision.
Disciplinary Action Process for Twin Cities Pharmacists in Wisconsin
Everything went through the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board when you applied for and obtained your Wisconsin pharmacy license. The Board handles most things related to licensing, but unlike Minnesota, the Board isn't actually in charge of or playing a significant role in the disciplinary action process for its pharmacists. When you are accused of misconduct as a Wisconsin pharmacist, you will be dealing with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Division of Legal Services and Compliance (DLSC). DLSC handles complaints for most licensed professionals in the state, including pharmacists and other medical professionals.
Complaint and Screening
DLSC will start by reviewing the complaint against you and your Wisconsin pharmacist license. The initial review is to ensure that DLSC has the authority to handle your case, that the alleged misconduct violates relevant laws and regulations, and that the misconduct, even if true, isn't trivial.
During the complaint screening process, DLSC may decide that the case against you isn't worth pursuing. This can even occur if it is believed from the complaint that the allegations against you and your license may be true. Because DLSC is tasked with policing so many licensed professionals, not just pharmacists, it doesn't have the resources to investigate every case. If DLSC suspects misconduct that it doesn't deem worth investigating further, it may send you what it calls a "letter of reminding." This letter will detail the relevant law or regulation you are suspected of violating, but it will not involve any sanctions and is not a formal disciplinary action.
Investigation
DLSC cases chosen for investigation are sent to a DLSC investigator and a compliance attorney within the department. During the investigation, DLSC may consult with the Pharmacy Board to ask questions that require professional expertise in the pharmacy field to answer.
Through the investigation, the investigator and attorney will collect evidence and interview you, witnesses, your employer, and any other relevant parties. You should never attend an interview or talk to DLSC without first talking to your Lento Law Firm attorney. Your attorney will advise you on how to respond effectively and honestly without falling for any tricks that might cause you to accidentally incriminate yourself.
Settlement Conference
DLSC will likely try to resolve your case at the end of the investigation without moving forward with the formal disciplinary action process. The formal disciplinary action process takes a lot of time and resources; therefore, it will schedule a settlement conference to resolve the case. Before your settlement conference, your Lento Law Firm attorney will talk to you about outcomes you feel comfortable with and negotiate the best possible outcome in your case.
Hearing
Cases that don't end at the settlement conference will have a formal administrative hearing before an ALJ. The hearing will work like a court case with motions to be filed, witnesses and evidence lists exchanged, and more. Your Lento Law Firm attorney is well-versed in these procedures. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will do all the talking in your defense at your hearing, while DLSC's attorney will present their case.
Determinations
The ALJ will decide if you are guilty, and if so, they will make a recommendation on sanctions. Sanctions may include:
- A formal reprimand
- Administrative warning
- Limitations on licensure
- License suspension
- License revocation
The ALJ's decision isn't final; it will be sent to DLSC and the Board of Pharmacy for a final review and approval.
Appealing Your Twin Cities Pharmacist License Sanctions
Whether your case was heard in Minnesota or Wisconsin, if sanctions were imposed against you and your Twin Cities pharmacist license, you may be entitled to a disciplinary action appeal. If you've gone through the disciplinary action process up to this point, we know you are exhausted. Likely, you've been subjected to this process for months, potentially even over a year. But now isn't the time to give up. When your Twin Cities pharmacist license and livelihood suffer potentially irreparable consequences, you must keep fighting.
Consequences of Disciplinary Action Against Your Twin Cities Pharmacist License
When a formal action is taken against your Twin Cities pharmacist license, it will be published online. In Minnesota, your case will be listed on the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy website, which is publicly available, and where anyone can verify your pharmacy licensure and list pharmacist disciplinary actions. Suppose you're on the Wisconsin side of the Twin Cities. In that case, your disciplinary action will also be published on the Department of Safety and Professional Services website for orders and disciplinary actions.
State websites aren't the only ones that will hold evidence of the formal disciplinary action against you and your Twin Cities pharmacist license. Pharmacy boards throughout the country must report disciplinary action taken against a pharmacist in their state to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). This database documents disciplinary actions against healthcare professionals throughout the country.
Even though NPDB isn't available to the general public, it is available to many employers, including registered healthcare organizations and state pharmacy boards. This means if you were hoping to start fresh and get your licensure in a new location, the state pharmacy board where you submit an application can see the disciplinary action against you and potentially deny you licensure in their state.
Who We Can Help in the Twin Cities
Our Professional License Defense Team has worked with clients throughout the Twin Cities, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, St. Cloud, Redwing, Hudson, Stillwater, and more. Our clients come from a variety of professional settings, from large hospitals to retail pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies. Hospital systems that have employed our clients include Allina Health and Park Nicollet Clinics.
Many of our clients have also worked at some of the largest retail pharmacy chains in the country, such as CVS and Walgreens. Others have come from pharmaceutical companies operating in the Twin Cities, such as Avalere Health, Vireo Health, Kindeva Drug Delivery, Cardinal Health, Chewy, Apothecary Products, and Iryin Health Care.
If You're a Twin Cities Pharmacist Facing Misconduct Allegations, the Lento Law Firm Can Help
Whether the allegations against you are baseless or result from a lapse in judgment, you must take this threat to your Twin Cities pharmacist license seriously. Our Professional License Defense Team attorneys are the only ones you can guarantee will be in your corner and fight vigorously for your rights and pharmacist license. Get started with us today by calling 888-535-3686 or contacting us online.
