Medical record and malpractice liability

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cptplanet

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Hello. I have previously been recommended marijuana by a California doctor for an issue that I thought it would be appropriate for. This was a few years ago when I was very naive about how this could potentially effect my career. I discontinued my use when it didn't really help my symptoms and my recommendation expired several years ago. I have no arrests/convictions drug related or otherwise.

Does having this type of medical record pose problems for:

-Residency
-State licensing
-DEA number
-Malpractice cases

In retrospect I didnt need medical marijuana and I should have gone with more traditional options and treatment from my regular doctor. However will this follow me or is it possible for me to continue in medicine?
 
1. Consult an attorney. No information gathered on SDN is going to be a substitute for that, and at best the most you'll get here is an opinion informed by anecdotes. You're better off talking to an attorney that can consult relevant case law, if there is any.

2. That being said, your medical records are confidential. The medical board and others will only try to get access to it if they have reason to try to get it. These are namely -- you disclose it, or someone blows the whistle on you. Which sounds like as long as you don't tell and don't cause suspicion, you're in the clear. The difficulty is that many groups will penalize you worse if they found out you Did not disclose it say in your medical license application. So it leads to a dilemma.

Anecdotally I've known physicians that previously had a problem (10 years prior) with a substance and had been sober for all that time. They chose to disclose and only got a probationary license after a long wait. Thus...talk to an attorney.

Finally, I'd recognize that practicing medicine is a privilege, and thus your legal recourse may be limited if you end up in the arena of suing say your state medical board.
 
Ok great thanks for the reply, I suppose it is then worth the investment to speak to a lawyer before incurring 200k in medical school debt starting this fall.

However say I was given a probationary license, how bad is that? Is it a disadvantage with additional hoops to jump through and some lost earnings or more along the lines of you will never be able to practice medicine?

Finally I realized I have also been prescribed xanax by a physician as well for the same condition so that may be pretty damming in the eyes of the board, although I have no history of substance abuse (for the record I cant tolerate the effects of xanax or marijuana and have been able to manage my problem for a few years now without any medicine). I always knew that this type of medical history would preclude me from military service but hadn't considered the problems it could cause in a civilian career.

So do you suggest I find a lawyer on the internet and ask them these questions before I start school this fall? And I want to thank you for your reply Im really stressed out about this now.
 
Again I'll begin with - consult an attorney. Legalzoom.com is one internet resource. Law2doc (an sdn regular) may be another resource to PM.

If there was never any issue of impairment, I wouldn't worry about either one (for me, personally). You were recommended both, didn't like either, so stopped them both. So it's probably not going to be an issue. Xanax (which I believe is an evil evil benzo) is technically legal, so as long as you weren't abusing it and weren't arrested for possession of unprescribed meds, you'll probably be ok. Most med schools do background checks on you during your matriculation anyway.

but again, talk to an attorney.

Probationary licenses usually just means you do urine testing and keep your nose clean for x # of years. It can be a pain in the ass if the board drags their feet in giving you your license (in some states you cannot progress in your residency past a certain point without being independently licensed). Most of this is so far down the line for you it shouldn't be something to freak out about. Talk to your advisors in med school, too.
 
If you were prescribed both medications, obtained them legally, and used them according to their instructions, there shouldn't be any problem.

The "complicated " issue is that MJ is illegal federally but legal in some states. This is a crazy legal situation that makes no sense, driven mainly by politics. regardless, if your use is in the past, was legally prescribed, and legally obtained, then there is nothing to report IMHO and this is a non issue. Even if you illegally obtained it at your physician's recommendation (which is seriously illegal for your physician to do), as long as it's stopped it's a non issue.
 
Ah yea that makes sense and makes me feel better, it was recommended to me in California. I'm just starting medical school and after 3 years of residency it will be 7-8 years from now so who even knows what the laws will be then with so many states pushing decriminilization and legalization. I still feel like I should let them know about it because in case I get named in a malpractice case and a lawyer finds out about it it would be worse, but I suppose that's something to worry about then and it's not a big enough issue for me to quit school.
 
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