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Impaired Practitioner Programs: What Happens if You’ve Been Accused of Impairment or Misconduct?

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In an industry that revolves around helping others, physicians and other health professionals sometimes find that they are the ones being pushed toward a treatment program. Long hours, heavy workloads and stress among health care professionals can sometimes lead to unsafe, unprofessional behavior and impairment allegations.

We routinely work with physicians, nurses and other health professionals who are accused by employers, hospitals, competitors, or terminated employees of impairment due to drug or alcohol abuse, or mental impairment, of being a “disruptive physician” or of sexual boundary issues. However, not all physicians and health professionals who are referred to a health program are in actual need of rehabilitation services.

What is the Impaired Practitioners Program?

The Florida Department of Health’s (DOH) Impaired Practitioners Program (IPN), Section 456.067, Florida […]

Review Your Department Of Health Practitioner Profile or it Could Cost You!

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In 1997, the Florida Legislature passed a statute that requires the Department of Health (DOH) to maintain online practitioner profiles for certain health care professionals. Practitioner profiles are required for medical doctors, osteopathic physicians (DOs), chiropractors (DCs), advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and podiatric physicians. The statute specified the required information to be maintained, how it was to be reported, and other requirements dealing with compiling and updating the information in the profiles.

To visit the DOH’s website and learn more about these profiles, click here.

What Information Does the Profile Include?

The profile contains required and optional information from the healthcare provider. Required
information includes:

1. education and training, including other health-related degrees, professional and postgraduate training […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:13-04:00June 14, 2019|Categories: Pharmacy Law Blog|Tags: administrative hearing attorney, administrative licensure investigation representation, Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) representation, AHCA attorney, AHCA defense lawyer, board licensing complaint lawyer, board licensing complaint representation, board representation for healthcare professionals, Department of Health investigation representation, DOH defense lawyer, DOH investigation, DOH investigation defense attorney, DOH representation, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, FBI agents, Healthcare attorney, healthcare license representation, licensure defense, licensure defense attorney, Licensure Defense Representation, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigators, nurse attorney, nurse defense lawyer, OIG special agents, representation for administrative complaint, representation for board licensing complaint, representation for DOH investigations, representation for healthcare professionals, representation for nurses, representation for physicians, reviews for The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm reviews|Comments Off

You Could Face Steep Repercussions From License Discipline or Resignation After Notice of Investigation

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Do you have a dental, medical, pharmacy or nursing license in several different states? Do you have a license in more than one health care profession? Have you been notified that an investigation has been opened against you? Are you thinking about resigning your professional license or voluntarily relinquishing such a license? Then you must be aware of the following information.

First, you should never voluntarily relinquish or resign your license after you know that an investigation has been opened or that disciplinary action has been taken against you. Such resignation is considered to be a “disciplinary relinquishment” and is treated the same as if your license had been revoked on disciplinary grounds.

Second, this will be reported out to other states, agencies, to the National […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:13-04:00May 23, 2019|Categories: Dental Law|Tags: administrative hearing attorney, administrative licensure investigation representation, Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) representation, AHCA attorney, AHCA defense lawyer, board licensing complaint lawyer, board licensing complaint representation, board representation for healthcare professionals, Department of Health investigation representation, DOH defense lawyer, DOH investigation, DOH investigation defense attorney, DOH representation, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, FBI agents, Healthcare attorney, licensure defense, licensure defense attorney, Licensure Defense Representation, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigators, nurse attorney, nurse defense lawyer, OIG special agents, representation for administrative complaint, representation for board licensing complaint, representation for DOH investigations, representation for healthcare professionals, representation for nurses, representation for physicians, reviews for The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm reviews|Comments Off

Although the Law Stacks the Deck Against You, Leaving a Foreign Body in a Patient Doesn’t Always Mean Negligence or Discipline

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Leaving a foreign object (sometimes referred to as a “retained foreign body” or “RFB”) in a patient, such as a sponge, clamp, forceps, surgical needle, guide wire, part of a surgical instrument or other paraphernalia commonly used in surgical, examination, or other diagnostic procedures, does not necessarily mean that the physician has committed an act of negligence or that the physician will be disciplined by the Board of Medicine (BOM) or Department of Health (DOH). There are many defenses in such a case and many incidents which do not constitute negligence. However, as a preliminary matter, the law does seem to stack the deck against the physician in such cases.

Medical Negligence Statutes.

Section 766.102(3)(b), Florida Statutes (previously Section 768.45, Florida Statutes),
states:

The existence of a medical injury […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:14-04:00May 21, 2019|Categories: Health Facilities Law Blog|Tags: administrative hearing attorney, administrative licensure investigation representation, Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) representation, AHCA attorney, AHCA defense lawyer, board licensing complaint lawyer, board licensing complaint representation, board representation for healthcare professionals, Department of Health investigation representation, DOH defense lawyer, DOH investigation, DOH investigation defense attorney, DOH representation, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, FBI agents, Healthcare attorney, licensure defense, licensure defense attorney, Licensure Defense Representation, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigators, national practitioner data bank, NPDB defense lawyer, NPDB representation, nurse attorney, nurse defense lawyer, OIG special agents, representation for administrative complaint, representation for board licensing complaint, representation for DOH investigations, representation for healthcare professionals, Representation for licensed healthcare professionals, representation for nurses, representation for physicians, reviews for The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm reviews|Comments Off

Review Your Florida DOH Practitioner Profile or it Could Cost You!

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In 1997, the Florida Legislature passed a statute that requires the Department of Health (DOH) maintain online practitioner profiles for certain health care professionals. Practitioner profiles are required for medical doctors, osteopathic physicians (DOs), chiropractors (DCs), advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and podiatric physicians. The statute specified the required information to be maintained, how it was to be reported, and other requirements dealing with compiling and updating the information in the profiles.

To visit the DOH’s website and learn more about these profiles, click here.

What Information Does the Practitioner Profile Include?

The profile contains required and optional information from the healthcare provider. Required
information includes:

1. education and training, including other health-related degrees, professional and post graduate training specialty
2. current practice and mailing addresses
3. staff […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:14-04:00May 21, 2019|Categories: The Health Law Firm Blog|Tags: administrative hearing attorney, administrative licensure investigation representation, Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) representation, AHCA attorney, AHCA defense lawyer, board licensing complaint lawyer, board licensing complaint representation, board representation for healthcare professionals, Department of Health investigation representation, DOH defense lawyer, DOH investigation, DOH investigation defense attorney, DOH representation, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, FBI agents, Healthcare attorney, healthcare license representation, licensure defense, licensure defense attorney, Licensure Defense Representation, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigators, nurse attorney, nurse defense lawyer, OIG special agents, representation for administrative complaint, representation for board licensing complaint, representation for DOH investigations, representation for healthcare professionals, representation for nurses, representation for physicians, reviews for The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm reviews|Comments Off

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Makes Changes to Florida Impaired Practitioners Program

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On May 31, 2017, Florida Governor, Rick Scott, signed into law House Bill 229 (Ch. 2017-41, Laws of Florida), which made changes to the statutory basis for Florida’s impaired practitioner programs. The impaired practitioner program for nurses in Florida is the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN), which is a for-profit corporation, The impaired practitioner program for doctors, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, and all other licensed health professionals is the Professionals Resource Network (PRN), a non-profit corporation.

The program, as envisioned in the statute, is designed to assist health care practitioners who are impaired as a result of the misuse or abuse of alcohol or drugs, or of a mental or physical condition, which could affect the ability to practice with skill and […]

Florida Department of Health and Law Enforcement Investigate School Providing Nurse Practitioner Courses

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

A subpoena purportedly issued by the Clerk of Court for Seminole County, Florida, recently requested academic records on advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) students, including preceptorship agreements for clinical courses they had taken. A follow-up inquiry revealed that the Florida Department of Health was behind the subpoena, seeking evidence concerning possible fraudulent practices involving the supervision of those clinicals.

Apparently South University, which has its main campus and headquarters located in Savannah, Georgia, but offers courses in Florida, had agreements with one or more physicians in the Orlando area to furnish training for nurse practitioner students within their medical practices. Under the terms of the agreement, the physician was required to provide a nurse practitioner to supervise the student taking the clinicals.

However, what is being […]

Licensed Health Professionals Should Have No Trouble Locating an Attorney/Legal Counsel Who Takes CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance To Represent Them in Licensing Actions and Hearings

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

We often hear from licensed health professionals who call and retain us to represent them in complaints against their professional licenses in investigations and formal licensure complaints. Often these professionals retain us after adverse disciplinary action has already been taken. In many cases they had good insurance coverage with CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance, or another professional liability insurance company but could not find an attorney that would accept it.

They retain us to appeal or attempt to reverse an adverse disciplinary action taken against their license, including suspensions and revocations. Matters which may arise include letters from the Department of Health (DOH) advising them that they are being investigated, administrative complaints, […]

Florida Department of Health and Law Enforcement Investigate School Providing Nurse Practitioner Courses

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

A subpoena purportedly issued by the Clerk of Court for Seminole County, Florida, recently requested academic records on advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) students, including preceptorship agreements for clinical courses they had taken. A follow-up inquiry revealed that the Florida Department of Health was behind the subpoena, seeking evidence concerning possible fraudulent practices involving the supervision of those clinicals.

Apparently South University, which has its main campus and headquarters located in Savannah, Georgia, but offers courses in Florida, had agreements with one or more physicians in the Orlando area to furnish training for nurse practitioner students within their medical practices. Under the terms of the agreement, the physician was required to provide a nurse practitioner to supervise the student taking the clinicals.

However, what is being […]

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Makes Changes to Florida Impaired Practitioners Program

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On May 31, 2017, Florida Governor, Rick Scott, signed into law House Bill 229 (Ch. 2017-41, Laws of Florida), which made changes to the statutory basis for Florida’s impaired practitioner programs. The impaired practitioner program for nurses in Florida is the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN), which is a for-profit corporation, The impaired practitioner program for doctors, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, and all other licensed health professionals is the Professionals Resource Network (PRN), a non-profit corporation.

The program, as envisioned in the statute, is designed to assist health care practitioners who are impaired as a result of the misuse or abuse of alcohol or drugs, or of a mental or physical condition, which could affect the ability to practice with skill […]