CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION
630-310-1267
Recent Blog Posts
Can a Psychologist Be Sued For Malpractice in Illinois?
Psychologists provide an important service for their patients, who rely on their expertise for therapy and treatment of a wide range of mental and behavioral health issues. Psychologists who breach their patients’ trust may face serious consequences, including the loss of their license. In some cases, they may even face medical malpractice lawsuits.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional breaches his or her duty of care to a patient, resulting in the patient’s injury or harm. For physical healthcare providers, some of the most common forms of malpractice are surgical errors, improper medication or prescriptions, misdiagnosis, and misinterpretation of test results or patient history.
While psychologists may not have a medical degree, they do provide a form of healthcare, and prescribing psychologists are licensed to prescribe medical treatment. Therefore, they may face medical malpractice claims related to improper prescriptions, misdiagnoses, or failure to diagnose a mental health condition. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), some psychologists also face claims of malpractice due to emotional abuse or sexual misconduct with their clients.
How Has COVID-19 Affected Medical Licenses in Illinois?
The global pandemic COVID-19 has hit the U.S. especially hard, with over 199,000 confirmed cases in Illinois alone. From the beginning, this virus has led to overfilled hospital beds and overworked medical professionals. With no vaccination in sight and a high demand for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, the U.S. has been forced to reevaluate their licensing procedures and state-by-state restrictions. It is common for states to adopt emergency licensing processes in response to natural disasters and their aftermath. Many states have followed this trend by enacting emergency-response licensure laws to allow volunteers from other states to practice their profession without being required to seek out licensure in that specific state.
Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner Act
The Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner Act (UEVHPA) is legislation that was initially developed in 2006 and is being modeled by many states during the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation allows any participating state, Illinois included, to recognize out-of-state medical licenses during a declared state emergency. All practitioners who wish to participate in this reciprocal-licensing program must register to do so.
Can I Work as a Nurse in Illinois If I am Licensed in Another State?
It is fairly recognized that nursing school is not an easy path to take. While slightly less rigorous than medical school, those who wish to be Illinois nurses are still required to take intense courses aimed at preparing them for in-field work and the difficult exam, known as the NCLEX-RN, to become a registered nurse. This exam is a national, standardized test to ensure that future nurses are fully capable of taking care of patients and performing other medical duties.
Since many nursing students take their NCLEX exam coming out of college, they will typically receive nursing licensure in the state where they went to school. However, it is unlikely that these medical professionals will never move out of state. For those moving to Illinois, there is a particular process that they must follow to become an Illinois certified nurse.
Out-of-State Licensure
If a nurse moves from one state to another and still intends on working in this field, they will need to receive “licensure by endorsement” in the new state that they are moving to. In other words, out of state nurses must receive license verification and endorsement from the previous state(s) that they worked in. This includes the current state, the original state (if different), and any other state that the nurse has practiced over the past five years. Illinois requires nurses to provide their NCLEX results, either from the state of original licensure or the testing company. These endorsement candidates can be issued a temporary license to begin work while the paperwork is being processed.
What Are the Requirements to Become a Licensed Dentist in Illinois?
There are many types of professions that are regulated in Illinois, such as cosmetology, psychology, financial services, and even architecture. One regulated profession that does not come as much of a surprise is dentistry. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) oversees the licensing, continuing education, practice, and discipline of dentists and related professions in the state. Becoming a dentist takes years of hard work and study, but getting your dental license requires you to know all of the requirements before you apply for your Illinois dental license.
General Dentistry Licenses
Like many other health-related professions in Illinois and throughout the country, you must have a license to practice dentistry in Illinois. To obtain a license to practice general dentistry, you must:
- Be at least 21 years old
- Be of “good moral character”
How Can Physician Burnout Effect Professional Licensure in Illinois?
At some point, we have all felt exhausted, cynical, or unhappy with our jobs. This is called burnout and it can have negative effects on job performance and personal happiness. Physician burnout has been one of the topics of concern among the medical community for a few years now. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), more than 40 percent of all physicians in the United States report experiencing signs of burnout. Physician burnout has been linked to higher rates of medical errors, lower quality of patient care, and a higher rate of physician drug and alcohol abuse and/or addiction. Physician burnout and its associated outcomes could have serious implications for your Illinois medical license.
Signs of Burnout
Burnout is a long-term response to work-related stress that is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished feelings of personal accomplishment. Burnout is not unique to medical professions, but physicians tend to be more prone than others. Other symptoms of burnout can include:
What You Should Know About PBM Pharmacy Audits in Illinois
In the healthcare industry, there are many safeguards put in place to protect patients. When it comes to medication and pharmacies, it is no different. PBM pharmacy audits are conducted both for the sake of the pharmacy benefit manager (PMB) and for you, the pharmacy owner. A PBM audit can be a stressful experience for a pharmacy, especially a small, independent one, but many pharmacies cannot operate at desired capacity without also working with a PBM. If you have an upcoming PBM pharmacy audit, proper preparation is key to success.
Documentation is Extremely Important
For many pharmacies, but especially independent pharmacies, documentation is often an area that needs attention. When your PBM auditor comes to your pharmacy, they may request to see certain documentation that could be from months or even years ago. This documentation could be anything to do with things such as supply changes, such as going from a 30-day supply to a 60-day supply, or early refills. Having your documentation completed, thorough, and organized will save you much stress during the audit.
Common Charting Errors and How They Could Jeopardize Your Illinois Nursing License
In many ways, nurses are integral to a properly-functioning healthcare system. Nurses play an important role in patient care, especially because they are usually the ones who spend a majority of time with the patient. One of the tasks that nurses perform is documenting a patient’s history and medical care, also known as charting. Charting is an essential part of a nurse’s job and mistakes on a chart or an incomplete chart could result in injury or harm to the patient or in some cases, even death. Because of this, your nursing license could be at risk if you make a charting error. If you face disciplinary action related to a charting or documentation error, you should speak with an Illinois nursing license defense lawyer.
Common Documentation Errors
Proper charting and patient documentation are crucial for not only the patient’s health and safety, but also for your sake. Charting errors can lead to a slew of issues such as improper treatments, lack of treatment, permanent damage or even death to a patient. If a malpractice or other legal suit is filed pertaining to your patient and it was discovered that you made an error when you were charting, you could face serious consequences.
Medical Licenses and Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Being accused of committing medical malpractice is one of the worst things that could happen to a medical professional. It takes years upon years of education, training, residency, and internship to become a physician. The last thing you would want to see is all of that go down the drain because of a patient complaint. In most cases, medical professionals do not have to worry about facing disciplinary action if they are accused of malpractice, but there are situations in which your license could be put into jeopardy if you are found to be responsible for malpractice.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes injury or harm to a patient because of a negligent act. Malpractice can occur during any stage of care, but to be considered malpractice, it must contain the following three elements:
- The standard of care was violated
Reinstating an Illinois Pharmacist License
To become a pharmacist, a person has to go through many years of schooling, pass dozens of tests and complete thousands of hours of an internship. Becoming a pharmacist is a huge accomplishment; to have that all taken away from you can be devastating. There are many reasons why your pharmacist license might have been taken away. Perhaps you got into trouble for illegally distributing controlled substances. Or maybe you made an error in a prescription that you filled for a patient. Whatever the reason, having your ability to practice taken away can be disheartening. However, there are steps you can take to have your license reinstated.
Reinstating Your Pharmacist License
In most cases, it is possible to have your pharmacist license reinstated if it has lapsed into the inactive status. The process of reinstatement will look different depending on the length of time that has passed since the license was inactive status. Depending on the time that has passed, your requirements for reinstatement will be slightly different.
Continuing Education Requirements for Illinois Social Workers
In the state of Illinois, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have careers as licensed professionals. These professions can range from the obvious, such as doctors and nurses, to the not-so-obvious, like architects and engineers. The one thing that all of these careers have in common is the need to become licensed in the state they practice. The state of Illinois has also put into place certain requirements for license renewal for many professions, one such requirement is continuing education. This requirement exists for the sake of maintaining a knowledgeable and up-to-date workforce. One such profession that requires continuing education is social work.
Understanding Social Work Licensure
In Illinois, there are two types of licenses you can receive in the social work profession: a licensed social worker (LSW) and a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). These two types of licenses are very similar, though they have separate qualifications and requirements, mostly depending on your experience as a social worker. No matter the type of license, social work licenses expire on November 30 of every odd-numbered year. Despite these differences, the continuing education requirements are the same for these licenses.
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
