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Unethical Behaviors Can Lead to License Suspension for Social Workers
Social workers play a crucial role in helping people work through their problems and become effective, well-adjusted members of society. Whether social workers practice in child welfare agencies, addiction services, schools, or private practices, they help vulnerable people and communities deal with real-world problems.
Unfortunately, because of the often public-facing nature of their job, social workers often find themselves targeted by dissatisfied clients, parents, or coworkers. Social workers also carry the burden of performing professionally at a very high standard, protecting vulnerable people even at the expense of their own needs or desires. Sometimes, social workers make mistakes that jeopardize their ability to practice their profession; other times, they are unfairly singled out for retaliation. Whatever the allegations against you, if you are a social worker facing accusations of ethical misconduct, negligence, or other misbehavior, you need the help of an Illinois professional license defense attorney.
What Should I Do if I Have Been Excluded as a Medicare Provider?
Accusations of Medicare fraud or abuse can have a significant impact on a healthcare provider’s ability to practice his or her profession. In addition to limiting the kinds of patients a provider can serve, Medicare provider revocation can be involved without other sanctions that may prevent a doctor from practicing altogether and may involve hefty fines. In one recent example, a Kentucky doctor was fined $720,000 and suspended from federal healthcare programs for fifteen years for submitting false claims to Medicare and Violating the False Claims Act.
If you are facing accusations of Medicare fraud, you need experienced, aggressive legal counsel to help you manage the investigation in your favor. If you have already had your Medicare provider status revoked or suspended, a professional license defense attorney may be able to help you get your privileges back.
Can a Psychologist’s License Be Suspended if a Patient Commits Suicide?
Psychologists face a tremendous amount of responsibility as they attempt to treat patients for some of the most complex, difficult-to-understand mental illnesses imaginable. Although many psychologists help patients overcome difficulties and learn to manage mental illness in a safe, productive way, other times a psychologist’s professional practice may lead patients to further harm. In the most extreme cases, patients may take their own lives, potentially exposing the psychologist to professional discipline for their treatment methods.
If you are being accused of contributing to a patient’s suicide, it is essential to take these accusations seriously and to enlist help in defending your professional license. Even if you are convinced you did nothing wrong, you may be subjected to an investigation that could threaten your ability to practice.
Can a Psychologist Be Penalized For Certain Kinds of Practices?
While some professionals may understandably feel that a psychologist’s style of practice should remain between the psychologist and his or her patients (and perhaps the patient’s parents), professional guidelines and laws prohibit certain types of treatment. In one notable example from several years ago, a psychologist lost her license after incorrectly diagnosing an 11-year-old child with Reactive Attachment Disorder and making bizarre and unethical treatment recommendations, after which the child committed suicide.
Can a Healthcare Professional Get Hospital Admitting Privileges Back?
Many different healthcare professionals need hospital admitting privileges. While doctors are perhaps most commonly thought of as using hospitals to practice medicine, other professionals, such as nurses who work in birthing centers next to hospitals, need admitting privileges, too. Not being able to admit patients to a hospital could put patients at risk of serious injury or death, and healthcare workers simply may not be able to do their job without hospital admitting privileges. Unfortunately, loss of hospital privileges can happen for a number of reasons. If you are being threatened with loss of admitting privileges or have already lost your admitting privileges, make sure you work closely with an Illinois medical license defense attorney.
Why Do Healthcare Professionals Lose Hospital Admitting Privileges?
People lose hospital admitting privileges for many reasons, although the most common are for issues related to not following hospital protocol and accusations of providing poor patient care. However, other reasons - such as abuse toward colleagues or falling short on an improvement agreement designed to increase the standard of your practice - may trigger the loss of admitting privileges as well.
DEA Investigations Can Mean Trouble for Your Healthcare License
One of the ways the government is trying to respond to the urgent national opioid epidemic is by sending the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) after practitioners suspected of overprescribing opioids to patients. While there are many doctors who have rightfully been investigated and held responsible for overprescribing opioids, others have gotten caught in the cogs of a machine that is desperately trying to prove that it is doing something - whether that something is actually helpful or not.
Even if you are certain you are not guilty of overprescribing opioids to your patients, it is essential to take an investigation by the DEA seriously. If the Illinois medical board is concurrently conducting a separate investigation, the DEA’s findings may influence that investigation. While you may not have violated any laws regarding opioid prescriptions, the board may be interested in other potential violations, in distancing itself from you for other reasons, or in responding to a complaint that is a result of a personal vendetta. No matter the reason, you need to take an investigation seriously and have a professional license defense attorney’s help.
Inappropriate Doctor-Patient Relationships Can Trigger Medical License Revocation
Standards for doctor-patient relationships are understandably high. Doctors and other healthcare workers are in a position of authority over their patients, and a doctor who is found to have engaged in an inappropriate doctor-patient relationship may be at risk of losing his license. In addition to putting themselves at risk of accusations of medical malpractice, deviating from the standard of care by having even a voluntary relationship with a patient can be an act of negligence by medical professionals. Of course, acts of sexual assault or violence against a patient can similarly result in sanctions against licensure, as well as criminal investigations and punishments.
However, medical practitioners are people and people make mistakes. Furthermore, while practitioners are generally permitted to have consensual relationships with former patients, there may be a question as to whether the professional relationship was legitimately terminated prior to the relationship taking place. If you are a medical professional facing sanctions for allegedly engaging in inappropriate relationships with your patients, contact an Illinois medical license defense attorney for help.
Can I Apply for an Illinois Professional License If I Have a Criminal Record?
There are many professions in Illinois that require a professional license. There are boards that oversee the different types of licenses, with most of them falling under the umbrella of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). Each board has their own set of rules and regulations that stipulate what is required and what is forbidden for someone to be approved for their license. One of the factors that could make it difficult for an applicant to obtain a license is if the applicant has been convicted of a crime.
What Type of Criminal Record Will Not Have an Impact on a License Application?
Generally, there are certain types of criminal record entries that should not have an effect on a license application. These include:
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Any arrests and adjudications that occurred when the applicant was a juvenile
Violations of a Professional License Settlement Agreement in Illinois
Unfortunately, not all investigations of a professional license holder by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) are resolved with the allegations or complaints dismissed. There are cases where the board will find that the license holder violated a regulation and that some level of discipline is warranted.
In many situations, the professional will enter into some type of settlement agreement with the board that oversees their license (i.e., Illinois Medical Board, Illinois Nursing Board, etc.) in order to be able to continue practicing. But what happens if the license holder is accused of violating the settlement agreement? Does a violation mean an automatic suspension or revocation of a license?
Settlement Agreements
There are a variety of different reasons why a professional would be given the opportunity to enter into a settlement agreement to avoid loss of their professional license. For example, settlement agreements are often used in situations where the board finds there is enough evidence of a substance abuse issue for the license holder. In some cases, the professional may need to comply with daily check-ins either in-house or with one of the many companies that employers can contract with to oversee employee drug testing.
Pharmacy Errors that Can Lead to Malpractice Accusations
Making pharmaceutical errors can have a significant detrimental impact on a pharmacy owner or pharmacist. The Illinois Board of Pharmacy and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) can take harsh action, classifying a pharmaceutical error that results in serious injury or death as malpractice. In addition to the civil legal ramifications brought forth by the alleged victim and/or their family, a pharmacist and the facility that employs them can also lose their licenses.
Incorrect Medication to the Patient
If a patient is given the wrong medication, it can cause serious or even fatal side effects. Unfortunately, these mistakes do occur, especially in pharmacies that have a large volume of prescription medications they fill on a daily basis. This can happen for any of the following reasons:
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The medication has a similar name as the name of the medication the patient was supposed to be given. Take, for example, Catapres® (clonidine) and Klonopin® (clonazepam). The generic names for both of these medications are very similar, but if the drugs are mixed up, the patient can experience loss of seizure control, hypotension, and other dangerous side effects.
Is Your Medical Practice Adhering to the No Surprises Act?
On January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act (NSA) went into effect. This federal law gives doctors and other licensed health care professionals, medical facilities, hospitals, and insurers significant and often complex regulations that must be adhered to in order to avoid serious sanctions that could include hefty fines and loss of medical licenses.
What Does the NSA Cover?
Lawmakers passed the NSA as a way to protect patients from unexpected medical charges and force providers to be more transparent when it comes to what they are charging. National statistics show that at least 20 percent of patients have received shocking emergency medical care bills with unexpected charges at some point in their lives.
The law limits the amount of liability a patient has on deductibles, copays, and coinsurance they are responsible for if situations prevent them from obtaining services from providers in their health insurance network and they are forced to obtain medical treatment from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities.
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