When you pursued your pharmacy technician or pharmacist license, you were following your passion. Acquiring this license is demanding. It requires you to invest heavily in education and career development and to be dedicated and focused. However, once you obtain your license, a simple mistake can jeopardize your ability to continue to keep it and practice your profession. If a complaint of a mistake or violation had been filed with the board against you, you would want to consult a lawyer immediately.
At Riverside License Attorney, we understand that even the most careful pharmacy technicians and pharmacists can make mistakes. When you commit one, do not let it threaten your practice license and place your practice, reputation, and livelihood at risk. We can help you. Our lawyers understand the intricacies of defending the professional licenses for pharmacy technicians and pharmacists. Whether your licensing problem originates from professional malpractice, an ethics complaint, or a criminal issue, we can help protect your interests.
The Role of the California State Board of Pharmacy (BOP) In Pharmacy Practice In California
The BOP monitors and regulates the practice of pharmacy throughout California. The board licenses, monitors, and regulates pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, pharmacies, pharmacy distributors, wholesalers, and medical device and drug manufacturers. The vision of this board is to ensure quality pharmacist care. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the safety and overall health of the California public by encouraging the highest-quality pharmacy care and proper utilization of pharmaceuticals through education, licensing, communication, regulation, legislation, and enforcement.
The board achieves its objectives by:
- Requiring license holders to meet specific professional and ethical standards
- Requiring license holders to demonstrate the necessary skills through education, examination, and continuing education conditions
- Probing complaints and possible violations of rules and regulations governing pharmacy care
- Enforcing disciplinary actions, including revocation and reprimand of the practice license, with forfeiture of the legal right to run a pharmacy
The BOP has an enforcement unit to investigate reported criminal and administrative violations. If the investigation substantiates the violations, the suspected licensee is referred for administrative or criminal prosecution.
Common Allegations Against Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacists
The following allegations can trigger the BOP enforcement procedures:
- Negligence
- Inadequately maintaining patient records and charts.
- Boundary violations
- Chemical dependency
- Diverting medication
- Missing a dangerous drug interaction,
- Giving the wrong medications or incorrect dosage,
- Professional misconduct
- Inadequately accounting for medication
- Convictions or charges significantly related to the practice of pharmacy, such as DUI
- Violating drug laws
- Failing to meet continuing education requirements
- Continuing education fraud
If you are a license applicant, the board can deny you a license for various reasons, including the following:
- An unresolved criminal case,
- A criminal record,
- Exam scores,
- Omitting facts in your application,
- Including false statements on your application
- Failure to meet education or certification requirements
Why The Pharmacy Board Holds Licensees to Strict Professional Standards
Pharmacy technicians and pharmacists are crucial to the California healthcare system. They serve as the final check between patients and drugs that can harm or help. As a pharmacy technician or pharmacist, you handle regulated substances, ensure drugs do not interact dangerously, maintain records that support legal compliance, and guide patients on how to take their drugs safely.
Due to these responsibilities, the pharmacy board expects you to satisfy strict standards. Any mistake, even a minor one, can have severe consequences for the patient and your profession. The rules and regulations that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must follow can be complicated, with overlapping federal and state requirements covering all areas from safeguarding patient privacy to handling prescriptions. Seeking expert legal guidance and assistance can make the difference when facing any allegations of misconduct. It helps ensure your side of the story is heard while safeguarding your professional interests.
The Pharmacy Technician or Pharmacist License Defense Process
The pharmacist or pharmacy technician license defense process involves 6 stages: complaint, investigation, formal Accusation, administrative hearing, appeal, and penalty relief and license reinstatement.
Filing of Complaint
The pharmacy board’s enforcement process commences when it receives an official complaint against a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. Anyone, including an anonymous party, can file a complaint regarding supposed violations of regulations or laws governing pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
Once the board receives a complaint against you, it will review it to establish jurisdiction and merit. If it is determined that you violated a pharmacy law within the pharmacy board’s jurisdiction, the BOP will refer the complaint to its enforcement unit for investigation. If the complaint does not fall within the board’s jurisdiction, it will be referred to the relevant authority. And if the complaint has no merit, the board may drop it.
Apart from receiving an official complaint, the board’s enforcement process can also commence when it receives:
- Notice of criminal charges, conviction, or arrest
- Notice of disciplinary action in a different professional license or state
- The board does not accept continuing education
License Investigation
You will generally learn of an investigation into your license after you receive a call, subpoena, investigator visit, records request, or a letter from the pharmacy board investigator.
Pharmacy board investigators are usually veteran detectives. They can also be DEA agents boasting several years of investigative experience. They usually adopt a friendly, casual tone that lures professionals into providing you information they should not or releasing details that can be incriminating.
An interview is an essential opportunity to prove that disciplinary action is unjustified. If you have been contacted for an interview, you want to consult an experienced license defense attorney. The lawyer can help you prepare for your interview and develop a rigorous response that does not accidentally weaken your defense strategy or incriminate you. Legal representation can significantly increase the chances of solving the complaint without the board imposing disciplinary action. Note that if the complaint is resolved during investigation, the BOP will not publish the allegations against you on its website.
However, if the investigation finds that you indeed committed a law, the board will take action contingent on the facts of the case. If your violation is only minor, the BOP can impose a citation and an administrative fine. But if the violation is severe, the board can refer your matter to the Attorney General’s (AG) Office. The AG can then proceed by filing an official Accusation.
Formal Accusation
An Accusation is a pleading document that the AG files on the board’s behalf, outlining charges and allegations for which the board is pursuing disciplinary action against a license holder. Usually, the board publishes formal Accusations on its website. Also, the board generally seeks to recover all of the prosecution and investigation costs in enforcement proceedings.
You are entitled to refute the allegations mentioned in an official Accusation. So, when the AG’s office files the Accusation, the board will send a notice of the same. After receiving this notice, you have 15 days to file a Notice of Defense stating that you are requesting a hearing to challenge the allegations or charges against you.
If you do not file the notice of defense within 15 days, the BOP will presume that you have waived your right to the hearing, and it can impose the action stated in the official Accusation by default, including revoking your license. However, if you file, the AG’s office will schedule an administrative hearing at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). If you have a lawyer at this stage, they can do the following:
- Negotiate the most favorable terms for a stipulated agreement with the AG to establish whether there is disciplinary action, or terms you will agree to
- Analyze the Accusation and prepare a strategy for the hearing, if necessary.
When your case is resolved via stipulated agreement, you generally admit to some extent of wrongdoing and agree to a penalty. A significant part of the stipulated agreement language is from the board’s disciplinary guidelines.
Administrative Hearing
In the event your case is not settled during the Accusation stage, it will proceed to an administrative proceeding at the OAH. The case will be presided over by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). A deputy AG and your lawyer will be given the chance to present their cases and submit evidence.
After the hearing ends, the ALJ has thirty days to issue their decision to the board. The board can modify the judge’s decision, adopt it, or not consider it at all. If you are guilty, the board will then impose discipline per Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 4300. Common disciplinary actions imposed include the following:
- License revocation
- License suspension
- Probation
- Public reprimand
- License surrender
License revocation is the most severe form of punishment, as you will be unable to practice indefinitely. If your license is suspended, you can resume practicing your profession after the suspension period is over. You will have to ask the board for a reinstatement. The most prevalent disciplinary action the BOP imposes is license retention accompanied by some probationary conditions.
When determining what penaly to impose against you, the board should consider the various factors described in its disciplinary guidelines. These factors are:
- Potential or real harm caused to any consumer
- Potential and real harm the public suffered
- Number or variety of present violations
- Prior warnings, including letters of admonishment, fines, citations, and correction notices
- Previous disciplinary record, for example, the degree of adherence to disciplinary orders
- Mitigating evidence
- Aggravating evidence
- Severity and nature of the acts, offenses, or crimes under consideration
- Adherence to the conditions of any criminal sentence, probation, or parole
- Rehabilitation evidence
- Overall criminal history
- How much time has elapsed since the acts or offenses
- Financial advantage to you from the violation
- Whether the act or acts were negligent, intentional, or showed incompetence
- Other licenses you hold and their history
- Evidence of hearing for the case being set aside and dismissed per PC 1203.4, if applicable
- If you are being held responsible for a violation perpetrated by another, whether you knew about or consciously participated in such an act
- Uniform Standards Concerning Substance-Abusing Healing Arts Licensees (BPC 315)
Writ of Mandamus Appeal
If you disagree with the outcome after the ALJ proceedings, you are entitled to appeal. You appeal by filing a writ of mandamus, otherwise called a writ of mandate. Writ appeals request judges of the Superior Court of California to review the ALJ’s decision and establish whether the judge abused their power or made a mistake. Usually, you must file a writ of mandamus within thirty days from the date of the ALJ’s decision.
If you are considering appealing the administrative hearing, you want help from a skilled lawyer in the intricate issues entailed in writ appeals. They can help you navigate the appeal process and ensure you meet the strict deadline. They can also help you prepare all the paperwork and present effective arguments, where necessary.
License Reinstatement and Penalty Relief
If you lost your license due to revocation, you want to understand that it is not necessarily the end of your career. After a particular period, you can qualify to request the BOP to reinstate your license. If the board placed your license on probation, you can typically ask them to modify the probation terms or terminate it early.
Time limitations and varying eligibility apply, and your attorney can explain. The lawyer can also present mitigating evidence, for example, proof of rehabilitation, to increase your chances of a positive outcome.
Find an Experienced Healthcare License Defense Counsel Near Me
If you are facing an accusation or investigation by the pharmacy board or you have been charged with a crime, you need a skilled and reputable pharmacist and pharmacy technician license defense lawyer for legal counsel. Interactions with board investigators and even board members can be stressful and entail severe risks to your practice license and reputation. You can easily make an error that can weaken your defense or incriminate you.
At Riverside License Attorney, we have several years of experience defending pharmacist and pharmacy technician licenses. We can help you understand and resolve any issue impacting your license, regardless of how severe it may be. We develop highly effective defenses that present you in the best possible light and ensure you obtain the best outcome possible for your case. Call us today at 951-410-8612 for a case evaluation. We will not judge you; we will only help you in the best possible way.
