Licensure Defense in Florida

 

            The attorneys at Leslie Tar, Esq., LLC focus on licensure defense matters for health practioners like physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants, psychologists, etc. This is their primary focus in health care matters. It is quite scary and unnerving for a health care practitioner such as a physician to receive a letter from the Florida Department of Health placing him on notice that he is being investigated. The nature of the investigation is not clear but the physician is given a set number of days within which he must respond to questions relating to the nature of the investigation.

 

            This is a serious matter, and if you are the target physician, once you receive this notice, you should act to find a Medical Board Defense Attorney to guide you. You will be asked to provide your resume, your response to a number of questions, or perhaps to provide your response to a complaint filed against you by a patient, colleagues, or members of state licensing agencies. You will be given the option to discuss your investigation with a Medical Quality Assurance Investigator. You cannot ignore this notice or fail to respond. If you fail to respond, the Florida Department of Health will file a formal administrative complaint against you, something that might have been avoided with the assistance and guidance of a Medical Board Defense Attorney.

 

            Depending on the fact senerio, you may still have to submit to a probable cause review of your case. Your Medical Quality Assurance Investigator will submit all of the information collected on your case to the Florida Department of Health attorney assigned to the matter. The assistance of a Medical Board Defense Attorney in drafting your response to questions, and his involvement in a telephone interview with the Medical Quality Assurance Investigator, maximizes the chance that your case will not be referred to a probable cause panel. However, if it is, and the probable cause panel feels that there is enough information supporting a professional conduct violation resulting in a violation of the Medical Practice Act, a formal administrative complaint will be filed against the health care provider. Once a formal administrative complaint is filed, the target physician will be given the opportunity to have access to all of the facts and documents being reviewed by the prosecuting attorney and the opportunity to submit information to rebut the lodged allegations and charges. We want to avoid getting to this point in the process and working with a Medical Board Defense Attorney as soon as you receive your notice of investigation maximizes this possibility. However, once a formal administrative complaint is filed against you, it will become a matter of public record.

 

            You may be provided by a proposed settlement agreement that the Department of Health drafts asking for repayment of their legal costs, punitive payment (a fine), attendance at medical educational courses directed at prevent future similar violations, probation, monitoring requirements, and perhaps placing permanent restrictions on your medical license, or even complete license revocation. Their offer may not be acceptable to you and your Medical Board Defense Attorney will work with you to modify the proposed settlement agreement. Even if the Florida Department of Health accepts the final version of a settlement agreement, the matter has to be reviewed by the Florida Board of Medicine for approval. You will be given the opportunity to appear before the Board of Medicine along with your Medical Board Defense Attorney. This appearance will be audiotaped and will be available for public review. The audiotape of the session will be available on the Florida Board of Medicine’s website a few days after the your appearance. You will be given the opportunity to accept the charges against you, or challenge the allegation during a informal hearing. If you select to proceed through an informal hearing, the matter will be scheduled for a later time and place. The Board of Medicine, a panel of physicians, members of the public, and an attorney will consider the matter and will provide you the opportunity to provide input. However, while you will have the opportunity to plead your case, the matter is time limted, perhaps no more than 15 minutes. During the hearing, you may be asked to respond to questions and your Medical Board Defense Attorney may ask you questions in order to clarify matters that may be misconstrued by the Florida Medical Board. The Medical Board Defense Attorney you hire must present your response to the charges against you in the best light possible. Your Medical Board Defense Attorney will recite your training, work history, character, conduct and raise mitigating factors for the Board of Medicine to consider. Ultimately, the Board of Medicine has the authority to reject any settlement agreement, and can impose a greater or lesser sanction than recommended by the Florida Department of Health.

 

 

 

              The attorneys of Leslie Tar, Esq., LLC are experienced Medical Board Defense Attorneys engaged in representing physicians in proceeding relating to unprofessional or sexual misconduct, deviation from standards of medical practice, substance abuse, peer review matters, medical license defense, etc.

 

*Primary office location for Health Law Services, Medical License Defense, and Medical Board Defense representation is in Port Charlotte, Florida with service provided throughout the United States, but with specific concentration in Sarasota, Tallahassee, Pensicola, and Gainesville, Tampa, Fort Myers, Naples, Orlando, Miami, Vero Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.