Patient license complaint

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doctalaughs

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Do you guys get many of these where a patient files a complaint with your state board? How do you deal with them since you have to respond and it's a huge waste of time. How much effort do you need to put in (if the complaint is ridiculous and they suffered no harm at all)?


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Agree x 3. A serious response from a lawyer will make most frivolous complaints go away. Blowing it off or half-assing an answer will lead to future pain.
 
doctalaughs said:
Do you guys get many of these where a patient files a complaint with your state board? How do you deal with them since you have to respond and it's a huge waste of time. How much effort do you need to put in (if the complaint is ridiculous and they suffered no harm at all)?


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Some malpractice insurance policies have a 'license protection' portion that will pay for an attorney to represent you in front of the board.
 
sorry it's happening to you. it's a huge deal, definitely get a lawyer or talk to your group about it. there maybe someone/policy in place for this and even then you may want to hire your own so they'll look out for your best interest. the board has to address every complaint no matter how frivolous. most are "professionalism" type issues. RT got her feelings hurt b/c you yelled at them, you threw a glove, said too many dirty jokes, "hostile work environment", pts didn't feel you spent enough time with them....etc. the board will ask you to appear if there is any merit from the complainant. at the best, you waste money/time and nothing happens. at worst you get a label and have to put that down on every hospital credential, state license application and such. if it's a new state license you're applying for, you will have to pay to appear (I think it was <$1000 in FL) to explain your case. it doesn't change the label. just allows you to explain your past, show you're not a bad person, they make a few bucks and you get a license. some hospitals won't hire you because of it. so at all costs put all your efforts into this, hire the most aggressive shark possible, and quash it asap
 
The board does an investigation, and throws out the bogus complaints prior to informing you (Florida). I used to read them when they were easy to find. They charge you for the investigation too.
 
Thanks for the advice. Seems crazy that any disgruntled but saavy patient can file a complaint in my state and you have to lawyer up to fight it. Mine literally came with a problem out of my scope of practice and I appropriately + politely referred him but he refused to go. He also suffered no harm but was very aggressive in threatening the complaint and followed through. Will follow advice and spend the money to have my lawyer write the response.




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I wanted to revive this thread. I also got a letter from the medical board for a patient. I looked up the case and turns out that I didn't see her. I called a number to tell them and they said it will take 3 to 9 months to resolve which I think is a long time to be cleared for something that has nothing to do with you. I looked at my colleagues' documentation and it was adequate but what I learned is that I could chart more carefully in my other charts (I think I document well but really you can't document too well). Carry on...
 
doctalaughs said:
Do you guys get many of these where a patient files a complaint with your state board? How do you deal with them since you have to respond and it's a huge waste of time. How much effort do you need to put in (if the complaint is ridiculous and they suffered no harm at all)?

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Not sure how common they are in the US. In Canada, with the malpractice situation being much better than the US, they are more common I think. The provincial medical boards are quite active in policing their own and every magazine that comes out from ours has a section in the back publicly calling out misbehaving physicians who were judged to be guilty with a litany of their misdeeds and whatever censure they earned from the board.
 
pencilcase said:
I wanted to revive this thread. I also got a letter from the medical board for a patient. I looked up the case and turns out that I didn't see her. I called a number to tell them and they said it will take 3 to 9 months to resolve which I think is a long time to be cleared for something that has nothing to do with you. I looked at my colleagues' documentation and it was adequate but what I learned is that I could chart more carefully in my other charts (I think I document well but really you can't document too well). Carry on...
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I wouldn't just sit on your hands and wait. If this is a complaint that has been wrongly directed at you for a patient you didn't see you need to get an attorney to contact the medical board and get this expunged.
 
If you read what I wrote, you will note that I did contact them. There is nothing else to do other than "sit and wait". Your post is a little offensive.
 
pencilcase said:
If you read what I wrote, you will note that I did contact them. There is nothing else to do other than "sit and wait". Your post is a little offensive.
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If you read what he wrote, he's referring to what you're doing now. So yeah, get a lawyer and get it fixed. Don't just call and be told "3-9 months".
 
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pencilcase said:
If you read what I wrote, you will note that I did contact them. There is nothing else to do other than "sit and wait". Your post is a little offensive.
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1. Why did you bother posting this?
2. Are you an expert on local laws and code, do you know how they handle their investigations?
3. You are placing all your trust in the competence of your local medical board, if you have not made a written statement you have not rejected this complaint.
4. Ask someone who knows and will put YOUR best interest first, see above advice, it may well be a do nothing situation....but I would find out for sure its just your livelihood.
5. I just thought if you didn't provide care to that patient why did you access their medical record?
 
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Most of the judgments from the medical boards are for opioid prescribing and inappropriate relations with patients. Documenting care is also a frequent problem.
 
d2305 said:
Documenting care is also a frequent problem.
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Do you have specific examples of documentation that tends to get one into trouble with the medical board? What exactly do they "get you" for when it comes to documentation patterns for "problem" physicians?
 
I know of one case where a doc had his license suspended for prescribing meds for friends/families. From what I understand a few of them were controlled, which was obviously extremely foolish. However, he also got in trouble for calling in antibiotics, etc. Once they investigated the controlled substances they also looked at everything else. He had no documentation to justify any of this.

I have shut down all such activity personally. It is just not worth the risk of losing your livelihood, just to give your coughing nurse or neighbor a z pack for viral bronchitis. They look at me funny, and think I'm a dick, but who cares. If you must do something like this, keep records but that carries its own set of issues.
 
I have had drug seekers file complaints that I would not give them their scripts. Its not biggie, but if you can get a lawyer involved.

My med/mal covered lawyer fees and the first time was alittle painful as I had no clue what to do. The second time around, I just wrote a letter to the lawyer and 3 months later, the board threw it out.

So save the stress and get the lawyer involved early as they know how to navigate this mess.
 
Dr Mantis Toboggan said:
I know of one case where a doc had his license suspended for prescribing meds for friends/families. From what I understand a few of them were controlled, which was obviously extremely foolish. However, he also got in trouble for calling in antibiotics, etc. Once they investigated the controlled substances they also looked at everything else. He had no documentation to justify any of this.

I have shut down all such activity personally. It is just not worth the risk of losing your livelihood, just to give your coughing nurse or neighbor a z pack for viral bronchitis. They look at me funny, and think I'm a dick, but who cares. If you must do something like this, keep records but that carries its own set of issues.
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It's the medical record. If you write a soap note for it, and one day the person you gave the z pack complains, you've got a reason. You don't have to be in your office to be a doctor, but you do have to document it.
It's not wrong to not give anyone anything though either. But you don't have to be afraid of it. Note: nothing controlled or with abuse potential.
 
Dr.McNinja said:
It's the medical record. If you write a soap note for it, and one day the person you gave the z pack complains, you've got a reason. You don't have to be in your office to be a doctor, but you do have to document it.
It's not wrong to not give anyone anything though either. But you don't have to be afraid of it. Note: nothing controlled or with abuse potential.
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Where would you write such a note? Your personal notebook?
 
Dr.McNinja said:
Precisely. A folder marked "medical records". I write it on any standard sheet of paper.
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And the nice part is that without billing rules, notes can be very short and to the point.

Here's one from my little sister's conjunctivitis last year:


S: Pt with 2d h/o left eye green discharge, mildly irritated, no blurry vision or pain.

O: Eye: PERRL, EOMI, left conjunctiva with erythema and watery discharge

A/P:
1. Conjunctivitis - likely viral, acular for symptoms
 
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