Texas physicians who are considering retirement have three options to maintain their license from the Texas Medical Board (TMB). Once a physician enters into a retired status, he or she is exempt from license renewal registration process, fees, and required CME.
To be eligible for retired status, a physician’s license cannot be under investigation or under a Board order. Biennial registration, including fees and CME, are required to maintain a medical license that is ineligible for retired status.
A physician may reactivate their medical license from retirement status by submitting a written request to the TMB and obtaining Board approval. If more than two years has lapsed in any retirement status, the physician’s request must be reviewed by the Licensure Committee of the Board.
There are three specific retirement statuses: Retired, Emeritus Retired, and Voluntary Charity Care.
Retired and Emeritus Retired
Under the Retired and Emeritus Retired status, the physician cannot engage in clinical activities or practice medicine in any state, cannot prescribe or administer drugs to anyone, and cannot possess a Drug Enforcement Agency or Texas controlled substances registration.
The Emeritus Retired status is a subgroup of the official retired status. A physician may request the Emeritus Retired status so long as the physician:
- Has never received a remedial plan or been the subject of disciplinary action by the Texas Medical Board;
- Has no criminal history, including pending charges, indictment, conviction and/or deferred adjudication in Texas;
- Has never held a license that has been restricted for cause, suspended for cause, revoked or subject to another form of discipline in a state, or territory of the United States, or a province of Canada.
Voluntary Charity Care
Voluntary Charity Care retirement status allows the physician to practice medicine, but with certain restrictions. The physician may not practice medicine for money or any direct or indirect compensation. Also, the physician practice cannot be for members of the physician’s family and cannot include the self-prescribing of controlled substances.
Under the Voluntary Charity Care retirement status, the physician must still complete CME but the number of mandatory credits is reduced from 24 to 20 credit every two years.
Hire an Experienced Medical License Defense Attorney
If you have been notified of a complaint filed against you with the Texas Medical Board, BERTOLINO LLP can help. We are experienced medical license defense attorneys and we know how to navigate the TMB’s complaint process. We are prepared to represent you at any legal hearing or proceeding regarding your professional license.
Our firm believes that immediately consulting an experienced medical license defense attorney to review allegations of misconduct helps ensure the most favorable outcome in your case. Our results speak for themselves.
BERTOLINO LLP represents licensed professionals across the entire State of Texas. If you are facing disciplinary action from a professional licensing board, contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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