Osteopathic medicine is critical in the medical industry as it promotes a holistic approach to treatment other than managing symptoms. It is done by highly trained and experienced osteopathic doctors who examine the entire body to determine the underlying cause of your symptoms. After examination, the doctors recommend the right treatment approach to restore your health, improve your general well-being, and prevent the recurrence of those or similar symptoms.
You must demonstrate excellent talent to obtain an osteopathic license in California. A talent like that will require you to spend years training and retraining in medical school. The Osteopathic Medical Board also requires you to understand local, state, and federal laws that govern your medical profession. Even after obtaining your license, you must abide by a set standard to avoid losing it to suspension or revocation.
At Santa Cruz License Attorney, we understand how important it is for you to retain your osteopathic license. We also know the circumstances under which you can lose it. We work with medical professionals like you, primarily those facing allegations that put their licenses at risk. We can fight for your profession and advise you on best practices that could keep you practicing for a long time.
Your Role as an Osteopathic Professional in the Medical Industry
Becoming an osteopathic professional requires you to train first as a general doctor and then take specialized or advanced training in osteopathy. Training as a medical doctor requires you to attend medical school for years. The specialized training takes a few more years, meaning you will be training for a very long time. It also costs you a lot of money to undergo medical training for those many years. These, together with the dedication the training and job require, are enough for you to fight to keep your license for years.
Sadly, your ability to retain your license is not usually dependent on the length or intensity of your training. You must abide by the standard set by your licensing board, including offering safe and quality services to patients. Any patient dissatisfaction puts your license and your entire career at risk. You could also lose your license after being arrested or convicted of a criminal offense. It helps to work closely with a skilled license attorney to understand your options and for quality defense if a person or company files a complaint against you with the Osteopathic Medical Board.
As an osteopathic professional, your role is not just to listen to, examine, diagnose, treat, and manage a patient’s symptoms. Instead, you are trained to offer an alternative approach, focusing on the entire body during examination, diagnosis, and treatment instead of one body part or symptom. You must review your patient’s treatment history and the underlying symptoms to determine the proper treatment approach. You must also work closely with your patients to ensure your recommended treatment produces the expected outcome.
Like other medical professionals, you can easily make a mistake in your diagnosis or treatment. Sometimes, you can disagree with your patients, family, colleagues, or employers. This does not mean you are not competent enough to discharge your services. However, disagreements and dissatisfaction can result in a suspended or revoked license. This puts your entire career at risk. If you cannot imagine losing a career you have built for years, you should engage the help of a license attorney. The right attorney will defend your actions, rights, and license to ensure you continue offering your service. They can devise the best fighting strategies to compel your licensing board to drop your allegations or rule favorably in your case.
Disciplinary Guidelines by the Osteopathic Medical Board
When you make a mistake that compromises the safety of your patients or affects the quality of your service as an osteopathic professional, your licensing board will likely take action against you. The board has a long list of mistakes that could result in discipline on its website. Some errors will result in a mere warning or a fine, while severe ones can result in the suspension or revocation of your license. You must always be careful to avoid making mistakes, as even the slightest one can affect your reputation or career, making it difficult for you to find employment or patients.
Here are examples of mistakes that could result in disciplinary action by the Osteopathic Medical Board:
- Being excessive when diagnosing or treating a patient
- Any form of sexual misconduct with a patient, colleague, or employer
- Any kind of fraud, mainly insurance fraud
- Being physically or mentally incapacitated to the extent it affects your service delivery
- Being incompetent or lacking sufficient skills to diagnose and treat a patient
- Any form of negligence, whether ordinary, gross, or criminal
- The abuse or use of alcohol or drugs at work
- Being addicted to drugs and alcohol to the extent it affects your ability to deliver safe or quality services.
- A felony or misdemeanor charge or conviction that affects your competence or reputation
- Knowingly prescribing medication to a patient who is already addicted to it.
- Issuing a prescription before examining and diagnosing a patient
- Using unlawful practices when marketing or advertising your service
- Falsifying a patient’s medical information
- Failure to keep your patient’s medical records properly
- Administering unlawful types of treatments for cancer patients
- Allowing incompetent assistants to serve under your management
- Exceeding the provision of your license when delivering services
- Bring under the investigation of another government agency or a licensing board of another state
This list does not provide all the circumstances that could cause the Osteopathic Medical Board to discipline you. A complete list is on the board’s website.
When the board is notified of your indiscipline, negligence, or incompetence, it launches an investigation to obtain the facts of the matter and evidence. Anyone can send this notice to your licensing board, including your former or current patients, former or current employers, or former or current colleagues. 4Your family members and the general public can also report any conduct that violates the osteopathic operations standards to the board. The report does not have to obtain evidence for the board to launch an investigation. However, the validity of the complaint must be considered to determine whether to investigate or dismiss it.
If the board decides to investigate the allegation, you will receive notice of investigation and an invitation to a hearing to determine the matter. After receiving this notice, you can consult a license attorney to ensure you are well-prepared for the hearing. An attorney will also help you understand the allegations better and how they can impact your career. This prepares you for what to expect after the hearing.
The Osteopathic Medical Board does not always investigate allegations it receives from the public. If it cannot substantiate an allegation, the board dismisses it and does not notify the accused person. However, if the allegation against you is substantiated, the board will investigate and take action against you, depending on its findings. It helps to prepare for a fight to prevent any allegation from ruining a career you have built for years.
Possible Outcomes of an Investigation by the Osteopathic Medical Board
In addition to actions and inactions that could ruin your career in the medical industry, the Osteopathic Medical Board has the types of disciplinary actions it takes against licensed professionals on its website. The board takes action against licensed professionals if there is evidence of misconduct, incompetence, or negligence by a licensed osteopathic professional. The kind of disciplinary action you will likely receive will depend on the type and gravity of your mistake. The board determines this after investigating your conduct and reviewing your service over the years you have been discharging it.
Some disciplinary actions are minor, while others are severe. However, all disciplines affect your employment and reputation. If you can, avoid mistakes that could result in discipline by your licensing board. If you are falsely accused, or there is a misunderstanding or error of facts, a competent license attorney can fight for a favorable outcome. Here are some of the disciplinary actions you can face after an investigation by the board. Remember that your lawyer can help you fight for the dismissal of your allegations or a favorable result.
A Citation and Fine
The Osteopathic Medical Board uses citations and fines against licensed professionals facing minor allegations. These citations appear on its public website, which puts you at risk of losing your job or patients due to a damaged reputation. Although a citation does not affect your license or the ability to keep your career, your patients or employer can reconsider working with you after learning about your indiscipline. This also affects your ability to attract more patients or find employment in the future. The board can issue the citation alone or with a requirement to pay a particular fine.
However, your attorney can prevent all that by fighting the public citation. This will protect your reputation and prospects without a public citation. No one will likely know about the allegations against you.
Your attorney can also fight the requirement to post a fine, especially if the amount is higher than you can afford. If the board insists on the fine, your attorney can negotiate for a favorable amount that will be easy to raise within the required timeline.
A Letter of Reprimand
License boards also use letters of reprimand to caution licensed professionals against indiscipline. These letters also do not directly impact your career or license. However, it can affect your reputation and future since reprimand letters are publicly issued on a public website. Anyone who comes across the letter can change their view of you or your service, including your patients, colleagues, or employer.
Instead of waiting for a reprimand to ruin a career you invested so much in, you can hire an attorney to work on your defense. A skilled license attorney will fight a public reprimand, citing its effects on your employment and future. With the correct facts, your attorney can compel the board to do away with a public reprimand. They could also succeed in compelling the board to drop your allegations to avoid discipline in the first place.
License Suspension
The board suspends the licenses of medical professionals whose actions threaten the safety of their patients or other people. License suspension is one of the gravest disciplinary actions used against osteopathic professionals in California. However, the suspension is usually for a particular period. Once the period is over, you can apply to reinstate your license.
You need the assistance of your attorney to avoid a license suspension because it will take away your capacity to earn a living. If the board suspends your license, you must wait until it is reinstated to start discharging your services again. This means you must undergo the complex process of reinstating your license to regain your ability to offer services and earn a living.
A skilled attorney can assist you in fighting this by using compelling evidence and statements during your hearing. They can also introduce mitigating factors to compel the board to dismiss your charges or use a more lenient discipline against you.
License Revocation
Although revocations are rare in the medical industry, you risk losing your license permanently if you are accused of severe indiscipline or incompetence. The Osteopathic Medical Board will likely revoke your license if your actions cause another person or a patient to suffer a severe injury or death. Since you cannot reinstate a revoked license, it will mark the end of your career.
Find a Remarkable License Attorney Near Me
Holding an osteopathic license in Santa Cruz allows you to discharge your duties freely and legally. However, you can lose that license and face the end of your career if you are incompetent, negligent, or indisciplined. The Osteopathic Medical Board takes misconduct allegations seriously and can suspend or revoke your license to protect the public from unsafe or ineffective practices.
However, you can fight against any discipline you face with the assistance of our skilled attorneys at Santa Cruz License Attorney. We take pride in assisting professionals like you to defend the careers that have taken years and cost them a fortune to build. Contact us at 831-732-4390 to discuss your situation and our service in detail.
