Like other medical professionals, pharmacists are an integral part of their communities. Your customers entrust you with details of their health; they come to know you as a friend. So, what happens when your reputation comes under attack by a license investigation? How can you protect or regain the trust that is such a big part of your job?
- Immediately Contact A lawyer
The moment the Texas State Board of Pharmacy notifies you of an investigation, your first response should be to contact a lawyer. A professional license defense attorney will be able to walk you through the “Dos” and “Don’ts” of a board investigation.
- Prepare to Put Up a Compelling Defense
If you are innocent of the charges, you should get ready to fight for your professional career. The board might offer a settlement or proposed order of some kind, including a license suspension. This may have some appeal–resolving the issue and moving on–but understand that a suspension carries with it the implication of guilt, and that will follow you throughout your career.
- Challenge the NPDB Report
The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) is a national clearinghouse on various adverse actions taken against health care providers. If your license is suspended, a report will be filed with the NPDB, which future employers can access. You can’t change or remove an NPDB report, but you can file a statement that disputes its findings. This statement, along with the report, will be what a future employer might see.
- Stay Quiet About Details of Your Case
While under investigation or suspension, you might want to protect your reputation by giving “your side” of the story to your customers and colleagues. Avoid this temptation. It’s best to talk about the details of your case only with your attorney, because the things you say to others might be used against you. Additionally, conversations you have with your attorney are privileged and confidential, but conversations you have with others are not. So, if you tell someone, “My attorney told me,” you may have just waived your attorney-client privilege on that topic.
- Follow All Requirements of The Board
If your license is suspended, you might have to undergo additional training or certifications to regain it. Follow all these requirements religiously. Don’t allow any resentment you might feel against the board to keep you from doing all you can to return to work.
Going through a license suspension is never easy, but there are certainly ways to make it worse for you and ways to make it less painful. If you have any questions, please contact our qualified, insightful Texas license defense lawyers immediately for a confidential consultation.
Our Law Firm Helps Professionals Keep Their Licenses
The attorneys at BERTOLINO LLP know how to build a compelling case to protect your license – and your livelihood. We have successfully helped clients resolve a wide range of complicated legal matters involving professional license defense. We know how to navigate the complaint process, gather evidence, question witnesses, and prepare powerful defenses against allegations of misconduct.
We represent clients throughout Texas in the following types of cases:
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If you have received a licensing complaint, BERTOLINO LLP can help. We represent licensed professionals across the entire State of Texas. Our honest, experienced attorneys will fight aggressively on behalf of your license and reputation. Contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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