CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION
630-310-1267
Recent Blog Posts
Protecting Yourself When You Are Under Investigation by the DEA
The United State’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a federal entity whose main task is to make sure that drugs are being used, sold, manufactured and prescribed correctly and within the confines of the law. One of the ways the DEA accomplishes this is by performing audits and investigations on physicians and their practices. For doctors and their employees, this can be a cause for concern because even a small slip up can become a serious issue. If you have become the subject of a DEA investigation, you should act quickly and immediately hire a medical license defense lawyer.
Understanding DEA Investigations
The DEA routinely conducts audits at the practices of physicians who are permitted to prescribe controlled substances. Typically, you can expect an audit every three years to determine if you are being compliant with all applicable laws. The DEA may also perform an audit if they have reason to believe something illegal may be taking place. This typically begins the investigation process and involves the DEA auditing your patient files. It is possible that the DEA or FBI may also request an interview with you to attempt to gather more information. If they have probable cause to believe that you have not been complying with the Controlled Substance Act, you may also receive a search warrant for your office or practice.
Common Reasons You Can Face Disciplinary Action As an Illinois Social Worker
There are laws governing all sorts of professions, from doctors and nurses to cosmetologists and architects. When it comes to professions such as social work, there are certain things that are explicitly spelled out as being inappropriate and not tolerated in the Illinois Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act. The Act contains information about what is expected from Illinois social workers and what is considered to be unprofessional conduct. If you are accused of unprofessional conduct as a social worker, you could face disciplinary action such as a license suspension or revocation, probation or reprimand.
Examples of Unprofessional Conduct
If you are a person who works in a profession that is regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), such as social work, there are certain standards of behavior that you must abide by or face the consequences. Here are a few ways you can be subject to disciplinary action as a social worker:
Tips to Help Health Care Professionals Avoid Inappropriate Social Media Use
Social media is a large part of many people’s daily lives. According to data from Edison Research, a vast majority (around 223 million) of Americans ages 12 and up are using social media. Even professionals such as doctors, nurses, dentists, and psychologists use social media, though things can get a little tricky because of privacy laws. Health care professionals have specific ethics and standards that they must adhere to and the use of social media presents an ethics challenge for some physicians.
All health care professionals are required to adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which exists to protect the privacy of patients and their health care information. Inappropriate social media usage could result in disciplinary action from the licensing board, which could affect your career. Here are a few ways you can help protect yourself on social media:
Ways You Can Prepare for Your Medical Board Investigation
Even the most responsible physicians can become the subject of a medical board investigation. Each state medical board is required to investigate any complaints that they receive, even if the complaint has no merit to it. When you are under investigation for a complaint that was made about you, it can be a nerve-wracking experience. Your professional reputation and medical license could be at stake, depending on the nature of the complaint and outcome of the investigation. If you are dealing with a medical board investigation, proper preparation is key to a successful outcome. Here are a few ways you can prepare for a medical board investigation:
Understand the Investigation Process
Even though the medical board has to review each and every complaint that is made to them, they do have an evaluation process that they use for complaints. If they find that a complaint is unsubstantial, they will not pursue any action against you. If they do think a complaint is worth looking into, however, they will likely send you a letter requesting a medical record review. If this happens, it usually means the medical board has flagged the complaint as a serious one.
Understanding Continuing Education Requirements for Illinois Physicians
Becoming a licensed physician takes years upon years of education, internships, residencies, fellowships and more hard work and discipline than you would ever imagine. For anyone, learning is a job that is never done and physicians are no exceptions. The medical field is always changing its guidelines and introducing new technologies to help serve patients better, which requires physicians to stay up to date on new happenings. In Illinois, physicians are required to have a specific amount of continuing education credits when they go to renew their licenses every three years. Not fulfilling those education requirements could jeopardize your ability to renew your medical license and your ability to practice medicine in the state of Illinois.
CME Requirements
According to the Illinois State Medical Society, physicians will be required to complete at least 150 hours of continuing medical education (CME) if they plan to renew their medical license in 2020. The only licensees who are exempt from that rule are those who are renewing their medical licenses for the first time.
Common HIPAA Violations and How to Prevent Them
Most people know that a person’s medical records and information are private information that is protected by law. If you are a medical professional, you must be familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a law that was passed in 1996 to protect the privacy of patients’ health information in the United States. The law gives rules and procedures that you must follow in order to protect your patients’ privacy rights. If you fail to follow HIPAA procedures or rules, you could face expensive fines and your medical license could even be put into jeopardy. Here are a few of the most common ways HIPAA is violated.
Unauthorized Access of Healthcare Records
The HIPAA only gives certain reasons as to why you can access the healthcare records of a patient without gaining their consent. Unless you are accessing records for treatment, payment or healthcare operation, you are doing so illegally. This can result in disciplinary action and a fine to the organization is possible, though uncommon.
You Could Lose Your Professional License for Failure to Pay Child Support in Illinois
Illinois takes nonpayment of court-ordered child support very seriously. In an effort to encourage parents to stay compliant with child support orders, Illinois has enacted several “punishments” for non-paying parents. Parents who do not pay child support can face wage garnishment, property liens, and the suspension or revocation of their licenses. A parent who is in child support arrears can lose their driver’s license, hunting or fishing license, occupational license, and even their professional license.
Illinois Can Suspend Your Professional License After a 30-Day Delinquency
You might assume that only egregious nonpayment of child support can result in a license suspension or revocation. However, Illinois law states that even a 30-day delinquency is enough to prompt a professional license suspension. When a delinquent parent receives a notice about past-due child support, he or she has 60 days to pay current and past-due child support. The parent also has a 45-day window to request a hearing to contest the notice. If the parent fails to become current with child support, he or she is considered delinquent and is in danger of losing his or her licenses.
Tips for to Selling an Independent Pharmacy in Illinois
For many people, the American dream is owning your own business. For some pharmacists, that dream involved starting, owning and growing their own independent pharmacies. According to statistics from the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), there were more than 22,000 independent pharmacies operating in the U.S. in 2015. Of those, an estimated 1,000 pharmacies will change ownership each year.
Buying and selling a pharmacy is a different and more complicated process than buying and selling most other businesses. With a pharmacy, you must pay attention to certain things when transferring ownership, such as informing and coordinating with drug suppliers and vendors, ensuring the pharmacy is enrolled as a provider for Medicaid, Medicare, and supplemental plans and various other things. If you are looking to sell your pharmacy, here are a few things you should keep in mind:
How Can I Prepare for a PBM Audit?
The role of a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) is one that is quite important in the health industry. PBM’s serve as the middleman between pharmacies and insurance companies and are necessary for a pharmacy to operate. Every once in a while, your PBM will contact you to inform you of an audit to ensure rules are being followed and business is being conducted as it should be. Being audited by anyone can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if that audit is conducted by your PBM. A catastrophic PBM audit could leave lasting effects on your business. If you have been notified of an upcoming PBM audit, here are a few tips to help you prepare for your audit:‘
- Ensure you are there for the audit. When you receive notice of the audit, the exact date and time will also be mentioned. Make sure you are in the pharmacy at that time and that you are free to work with the auditor while they are there.
How Can My Dental License Be Put into Jeopardy?
Each year, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issues, renews and reinstates hundreds of licenses to those in the dental field. To be eligible for a general Illinois dental license, you must complete years of schooling, have years of clinical training, and pass both a national and regional dentistry test. After putting so much effort into getting your license to practice dentistry, the last thing you would want to do is jeopardize your license by committing a simple violation. Depending on the violation, you could face disciplinary or non-disciplinary action and fines of up to $10,000 per offense.
Common Violations That Could Affect Your License
To practice dentistry in Illinois, you are required to have a valid Illinois dental license. The IDFPR is the licensing entity that determines whether or not you can practice dentistry. There are a number of violations that could cause the IDFPR to refuse, revoke or suspend your license to practice dentistry. These violations include:
Practice Areas
Contact Our Firm
The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.
I have read and understand the Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
1550 Spring Rd. Suite 225, Oak Brook, IL 60523
630-310-1267
