Today the Commonwealth Court issues another remarkable decision involving a Pennsylvania medical professional. Dunagan v. BPOA, 2019 WL 155879, is the third case in a row in which a Commonwealth Court panel has found a Pennsylvania medical related board engaged...
Firm News
Protecting professional licenses from DUI convictions
A DUI can be a costly problem for any Philadelphia resident. A person facing such a charge may be forced to endure a long process of collecting evidence, preparing a defense, and fighting for their rights in court in order to overcome charges that threaten their...
Licensure Applications — Disclosing a Record — Part 2 — Evidence of Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Redemption
In my last blog I wrote about real estate applicant who failed to disclose on his Real Estate Commission application a criminal conviction. Upon discovery the Commission revoked his license and the Commonwealth Court approved of the action. Today's blog involves the...
Licensure Applications — Disclosing a Record — Part 1 — The Cover Up is Worse than the Crime
Professional license applications require potential licensees disclose prior criminal convictions or open criminal cases. Current licensees seeking an additional license must also answer these questions. This self reporting obligations establishes a base level of...
Pharmacist licenses suspended for many reasons
The Pennsylvania Department of State regulates licensed professionals and provides reports on the types of discipline that those individuals receive from their specific licensing boards. As in other jurisdictions and states, pharmacists are required to hold...
Addiction is a common problem for American nurses
An informational article offered by Psychology Today suggests that around one out of every ten American nurses suffers from an addiction disorder and that their condition may affect their ability to care for their patients. Addiction is a serious medical condition...
The Immediate Temporary Suspension and 180 Time Limit
Board prosecutors file petitions called an Immediate Temporary Suspension ("ITS") petition to temporarily and immediately suspend licensees ability to practice their profession. These petitions are typically reserved for Drug Act investigations or sexual assault...
Professional License Defense — Counsel and the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence
On February 28, 2019 Commonwealth Court issued a decision reversing a Pennsylvania Medical Board order reprimanding a physician. The order reprimanding the physician stems from a medical malpractice case. The patient died and the Medical Board accused the physician of...
New prescription monitoring tool could see increase in false tips
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control, more than five thousand people died in Pennsylvania in 2017 due to opioid overdoses. In the state's ongoing battle against the opioid epidemic, the state Attorney General's Office rolled out a new program in...
Can Pennsylvania doctors prescribe marijuana to their patients?
For the last several years, medical marijuana has been in the national news. While some fear that allowing it to be used in the medical field is a slippery slope to allowing its permissible use by everyone, there is no doubt that for some medical patients marijuana is...