As a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), you are highly trained in medicine and dedicated to providing comprehensive patient care in Riverside. Osteopathic physicians are an essential part of the region’s healthcare system. They are licensed and regulated by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC). Any allegations of professional misconduct, criminal convictions, or prescribing errors can lead to investigations that jeopardize your license, reputation, and future.
Since osteopathic medicine has its own professional and legal standards, you need a defense strategy that is specific to your practice. A board investigation can be daunting and time-consuming. The longer it continues, the more difficult it can become to manage effectively. Legal advice at an early stage can minimize potential consequences and preserve your right to practice. At Riverside License Attorney, our license defense attorneys represent osteopathic physicians in protecting their professional licenses, reputations, and ability to practice.
Understanding Who an Osteopathic Physician is
Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) are fully licensed doctors and practice in all medical specialties. You offer a wide range of medical services, including prescribing medications, performing surgery, and using diagnostic imaging.
Your job, however, is marked by a “whole-person” approach to medicine. You consider lifestyle and environmental factors and how they affect a patient’s overall health, rather than focusing on individual symptoms. This philosophy is based on the interrelatedness of systems within the body, especially the musculoskeletal system, and on the body’s innate healing capacity.
You learn to understand how the body’s structure affects its function and apply hands-on techniques to diagnose and treat patients using osteopathic manipulative medicine. This patient-centered approach makes you a valuable part of the Riverside community and emphasizes prevention and long-term health. You spend a lot of time evaluating diet, sleep patterns, activity, and mental health to give a comprehensive treatment plan.
Your training includes learning the latest medical technologies and developing a keen sense of touch to assess the integrity of the body’s structure. Your practice, whether in primary care, emergency medicine, or specialized surgery, is based on a commitment to treating the person, not the disease.
Your techniques often include hands-on manipulation and a comprehensive evaluation. This means the possibility of miscommunication or patient complaints is a reality you will need to address every day.
The OMBC’s Role In Regulating Osteopathic Medicine In California
The Osteopathic Medical Board of California is the governing body for your profession. It is separate from the Medical Board of California, but is part of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The primary role of the board is to protect the public by ensuring that all licensed osteopaths comply with the standards established in the Medical Practice Act and the California Business and Professions Code. The board’s job is not to protect your interests; it is to protect consumers. So, if the board receives a complaint, they are inclined to investigate to ensure that public safety is not compromised.
The board has the power to grant licenses, oversee ongoing medical education, and investigate any violations of the law. The board may work with investigators and enforcement personnel during complaint investigations and evidence gathering.
This can create challenges during an investigation, especially when you are dealing with officials who are more familiar with allopathic standards and may not fully understand the nuances of osteopathic medicine. In addition, the board may address cases involving substance use or impairment through monitoring, rehabilitation, or disciplinary processes, depending on the circumstances.
Common Complaints against Osteopathic Physicians
There are many reasons why the board may open an investigation. Complaints can come from patients, colleagues, insurance companies, or law enforcement. They may involve clinical errors, professional conduct issues, or administrative violations. Understanding the specific nature of the allegations is an essential first step in building a strong defense against possible disciplinary action.
Quality of Care and Gross Negligence
Gross negligence allegations require that a person’s conduct be so far removed from the standard of care that it is considered an extreme departure. These charges can be brought against you if a patient suffers a major injury or death due to a surgical complication, a misdiagnosis, or when a patient does not receive the diagnostic tests they need.
The board will consider whether your conduct was that of a reasonably prudent osteopathic physician in similar circumstances. Repeated acts of negligence may result in disciplinary action, including license revocation.
To counter these allegations, you need to thoroughly examine medical records and present expert witnesses to substantiate your clinical judgment and demonstrate that you stayed within your scope of practice.
Inappropriate or Excessive Prescribing
The board closely monitors prescribing practices, especially as scrutiny over controlled substances continues to increase. You may face an investigation for prescribing medication without conducting a proper physical examination or for overprescribing opioids or other potentially addictive drugs.
The board may review prescribing activity through California’s CURES database, and any discrepancies may lead to an investigation. These cases often involve complex questions regarding pain management and the validity of the doctor-patient relationship. The prescriptions should have been medically necessary, and you should have had appropriate records to support each prescription you gave.
Criminal Convictions
Your professional license is tied to your personal conduct, especially your criminal history. The board can discipline you for any conviction that is “substantially related” to the qualifications, functions, or duties of an osteopathic physician, under the Business and Professions Code.
This can be driving under the influence, domestic violence, drug possession, or financial crimes. These convictions should be reported to the board within the required time period. If a conviction is not reported, then separate charges of dishonesty or fraud may be laid.
Your license defense attorney will have to prove your rehabilitation and that the underlying offense did not affect your ability to practice medicine safely.
Substance Abuse and Physical Impairment
The board takes allegations of chemical dependency very seriously, as they directly impact patient safety. The board may request an immediate interim suspension of your license if you are accused of practicing while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
These investigations may include clinical examinations and assessments of eligibility for the board’s diversion program. The board provides rehabilitation options, but the process is intrusive and can take years of monitoring and testing of biological fluids. These cases demand a balance between treatment and the right to practice medicine in a controlled setting.
Dishonesty and Insurance Fraud
Dishonesty charges may be based on a range of administrative activities, including falsifying medical records or making false claims to Medi-Cal, Medicare, or private insurance companies. The board considers any fraudulent act to be a serious character fault that will detract from the integrity of the profession.
This category also encompasses false claims about the product or claims made to assist in the unlicensed practice of medicine. Proving innocence of fraud charges involves a careful audit of billing and office practices to establish that any mistakes were not intentional but rather administrative.
The OMBC Disciplinary Process
The OMBC disciplinary process is a series of steps that starts when a complaint is made and may result in an administrative trial. Knowing how each phase works will help you to predict what the board will do and counter any potential major fines or license revocation.
The Investigative Stage
If the board decides that a complaint is within its jurisdiction, an investigator is assigned to the case. This phase is crucial because the information collected at this stage can significantly affect the case’s disposition, either by closing it or referring it to the Attorney General for formal prosecution.
A letter may be sent for an interview or to obtain patient records. You should not go to an investigative interview without a lawyer present because what you say is recorded and may be used against you at a later time.
Your attorney will be able to handle the communication with the investigator, ensuring that you give them the information they need without incriminating yourself in any way or violating your constitutional rights.
Filing of the Formal Accusation and the 15-Day Rule
If the investigation indicates sufficient evidence of a violation, the board will refer the matter to the Office of the Attorney General for the filing of a formal Accusation. This is a public document that outlines the specific charges against you.
You are given fifteen days from the date of service of an Accusation to file a Notice of Defense. Do not miss this deadline, or you will lose the right to a hearing and risk a default disciplinary decision being entered against your license. When you file the Notice of Defense, you are asserting your right to dispute the evidence, and you will start the discovery process to determine what evidence the state has.
The Administrative Hearing and Appeals
An administrative hearing is a formal trial before an Administrative Law Judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings. There is no jury, and the burden of proof is “clear and convincing evidence.” At the hearing, the Deputy Attorney General introduces evidence and witnesses against you, and your attorney introduces mitigating evidence and cross-examines the witnesses.
Following the hearing, the judge proposes a decision that the board may adopt, modify, or reject. If the result is not satisfactory, you may appeal the board’s decision by filing a Writ of Administrative Mandamus in the Superior Court for a judicial review of the board’s actions.
Potential OMBC Disciplinary Actions
The board can impose a variety of penalties, from a minor administrative citation to even revoking your professional license. Your license defense attorney’s job is to direct the board towards the most lenient punishment available, while focusing on your rehabilitation and your contribution to the medical field.
Public and Private Reprimands
If the incident is not serious and does not pose a significant risk to the patient, the board can send a letter of reprimand. The least serious formal action is a private reprimand, which will not be posted on the public board website. However, a public reprimand is a public record and can be viewed by patients and employers.
These actions will not prevent you from continuing to practice, but they may affect your insurance panels or your privileges at the hospital. A strategic defense shows that the violation was a one-time occurrence and that you have implemented corrective actions to prevent it from recurring.
License Probation and Stay of Revocation
More severe violations often result in probation. In this case, the board “stays” the revocation of your license, and you can keep practicing on the condition that you meet certain requirements.
These requirements can be continuing education, a practice monitor, clinical training, or psychological evaluations. The probation period is typically three to five years. Probation is difficult, but it is also a preferable alternative to suspension or revocation of your license because you can keep practicing and making money. At the same time, you prove your competence to the board by following the terms of probation.
License Suspension and Reinstatement Petitions
Suspension is a temporary ban on practicing medicine that can be for a few months or several years. This is typically done when there is a substance abuse problem or a major clinical mistake that requires you to spend time improving your skills or addressing health problems.
After the suspension, you are not automatically reinstated; you must seek the board’s permission to be reinstated. This process includes a hearing to establish that you are fit to return to practice. Your lawyer is a key part of the process of obtaining evidence of rehabilitation that will help the board determine that you are no longer a threat to the public.
Permanent License Revocation
The most severe disciplinary penalty is revocation, which permanently bars you from practicing. This means that the board has terminated your right to practice osteopathy in California forever. This is typically reserved for the most egregious forms of misconduct, including sexual misconduct with patients, large-scale fraud, or serious gross negligence resulting in death.
In some instances, even when revocation appears possible, an attorney may be able to negotiate a voluntary surrender of the license. This may be beneficial because it can preserve the possibility of a future petition for reinstatement while avoiding a public revocation hearing.
Find an Osteopathic Medical License Defense Lawyer Near Me
Facing the possible loss of your osteopathic medical license can be overwhelming and requires immediate legal action. If the Osteopathic Medical Board of California is investigating you, or you have been served with a formal Accusation, the steps you take now matter. They can directly affect your future as an osteopathic physician. Good legal counsel can be the difference between keeping your license, job, and reputation.
The defense can include examining the facts and questioning the evidence against you. It may also involve working toward the most favorable resolution based on the facts of your case. You do not have to go through the disciplinary process by yourself. From the initial investigation through the administrative hearing process, legal guidance can help you move forward with confidence. Contact Riverside License Attorney today at 951-410-8612 to speak with an experienced osteopathic medical license defense attorney.
