As a well being care practitioner, any dispute with a state licensing board is nerve-wracking. It’s possible you’ll be accused of misconduct on any variety of grounds—some or all of which you will refute—and be confronted with penalties threatening your profession and livelihood. If the Division of Well being presents you with a consent order to settle the matter utterly, chances are you’ll be tempted to right away signal it and put the dispute behind you. Don’t signal the order with out consulting authorized counsel. Merely signing the consent order might end in surprising long-term unfavourable results in your well being care follow.
What Precisely Is a Consent Order?
A consent order is an agreed-upon ultimate order of self-discipline and has its advantages. Greater than something, it supplies you with a possibility to make sure that the order precisely describes your conduct, doesn’t overstate or mischaracterize your conduct or problem, and should give you a possibility to barter the language used within the order. Nonetheless, a consent order will turn into part of your disciplinary historical past and your licensure document indefinitely. The Tennessee Division of Well being points a month-to-month launch on its web site, itemizing all disciplinary actions taken by the health-related boards in the course of the prior month. Much more importantly, disciplinary actions taken in opposition to you may be posted to the Nationwide Practitioner Knowledge Financial institution, which most well being care employers and insurance coverage corporations throughout the nation entry.
Personal insurers, comparable to Blue Cross Blue Defend of Tennessee, pay shut consideration to the disciplinary motion stories and the Nationwide Practitioner Knowledge Financial institution. Disciplinary motion might present grounds for the insurance coverage firm to de-credential a supplier. In our expertise, it is vitally tough so as to add context or dispute the language of the consent order after the very fact. Due to this fact, the easy act of resolving a problem with the Licensing Board might end in shedding your privileges with non-public insurers in Tennessee.
What to Do Following a Criticism or Pending Allegations/Costs
Receiving discover of pending allegations or prices in opposition to you possibly can typically come as a shock. The unique criticism filed in opposition to you is confidential and won’t be disclosed to you. The next investigation report can be confidential. What chances are you’ll obtain is a letter from the Division of Well being or Licensing Board requesting an interview after which a letter notifying you of the end result of the investigation. If the investigation determines that formal prices in opposition to you’re acceptable, you may be given a possibility for an administrative listening to. Sadly, you continue to is not going to have entry to the underlying criticism and documentation initially submitted to the board to arrange for a listening to. Nonetheless, it is possible for you to to current your aspect of the story. If a violation is discovered following a listening to, an off-the-cuff letter of correction could also be issued by the Licensing Board, or the file will probably be referred to the Tennessee Division of Well being’s Workplace of the Common Counsel for consideration of formal disciplinary actions. At any level following the investigation, chances are you’ll be offered with the consent order.
Earlier than You Signal a Consent Order
It’s crucial to seek the advice of with an legal professional previous to signing any consent order. As a shopper of Chambliss, we will defend you throughout your listening to and make sure you put forth your finest case, help you with the negotiation course of, and be sure that any ultimate order precisely displays the conduct at problem to restrict any unfavourable penalties downstream. It will be significant to not delay in search of authorized help.