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...
Professional License Application
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...
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...
Finishing the PHMP Term — Returning to an Unrestricted Health Care Practice
How do you get out of Pennsylvania's Professional Health Monitoring Program ("PHMP"). The PHMP administers both the Voluntary Recovery Program "VRP" and the Disciplinary Monitoring Program ("DMU"). As a licensed professional voluntarily enrolled in the PHMP - VRP - or...
What is a Petition for Appropriate Relief
A Petition for Appropriate Relief ("PAR") is a licensing board prosecution motion, presented to a licensing board committee, alleging an emergent need to suspend a licensee's license. PARs target licensees currently on PHMP disciplinary probation, whether a voluntary...
Felony Fraud, a Criminal Conviction, and License Revocation
Artifice and fraud schemes are rampant in healthcare and insurance. Typical insurance fraud criminal charges will result in licensee disciplinary action. By typical I mean submitting claims for unemployment benefits while working another job or failing to report...
Can I lose my EMT license because of a criminal conviction?
Emergency medical technicians offer an invaluable service to the citizens of Philadelphia. They are important first responders who reach individuals in need long before they arrive at hospitals and emergency facilities. They save lives and cope with incomparable...
Mental Health, Impairments, DUI’s, ARD, and the PHMP — Voskanian Reports
Every day I do legal research on at least one of the my cases. Staying current on the law, burdens of proof, abuse of discretion standards, and learning which experts the appellate courts reject are important legal tasks. During a recent afternoon research session I...