Doctors must be licensed to practice and have a valid license within their state. However, not only the state has the ability and the authority to impact whether a doctor can practice or not. KSFY reported on one recent case in which a physician’s license revocation was stayed by a judge in state court but she is still effectively unable to practice medicine because of issues with a federal physician’s database.
The case illustrates why it is so important for every medical care provider to get help with medical license defense as soon as possible from a legal professional who knows all legal issues and problems that a suspended license could cause.
Doctor Cannot Practice Because of Reports State Made to Federal Board
The case involves a physician who ran for senate in 2014. During her election run, she allegedly committed multiple violations of election law. She was convicted of 12 felonies in connection with these violations.
As a result, her license to practice medicine was revoked. She appealed the state’s decision, and the judge issued a stay. This means the actions of the state disciplinary board in revoking her license were put on hold and her revocation does not stand right now, so she can legally practice medicine within her state and her license currently remains valid.
The problem is, the state reported the revocation of her license to a federal physician’s database. Because the federal database currently lists her license as revoked, she cannot purchase medical malpractice insurance coverage since no insurers will provide a policy. Practicing without malpractice insurance is risky for any physician. The status of her license in the federal database also means she cannot be paid for her services by Medicaid or Medicare. Since many patients are covered by one of these two government insurance programs, this seriously limits her ability to be paid for providing patient care.
The doctor went before the state court to try to seek a remedy. The judge agreed the state board acted inappropriately and should not have taken the action it did. However, the judge also was unable to provide the doctor with a legal remedy to fix her problem. The judge indicated he could not control what a federal board does or how it operates. As a result, it will continue to be an uphill battle for the doctor to try to get this issue fixed.
She will continue to see patients on a limited basis in her state, where she is allowed to practice medicine, but will need to continue fighting legal battles if she wants to be able to resume her full medical career. The case demonstrates the far-reaching impact of any disciplinary proceedings and the importance of a strong legal defense.
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