In the years 2015 and 2016, I have seen a wide range of issues that came to me from physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, all of which were potentially dangerous to the license of the individual client. I am going to list some of the matters in order to demonstrate what problems can arise and how I attempt to eradicate the problem or at least minimize the impact.
1. A nurse was fired from a facility for unprofessional conduct regarding the treatment of a mental health patient with controlled substances. We are appealing the findings of the review board.
2. A physician has had his license suspended in another state and he is applying to obtain his license in New York.
3. A physician was fired from a prominent position and I am assisting in the application to obtain a position at another organization.
4. A physician is applying for a New York license without having a certified fellowship. We need to demonstrate that the lack of the certification is not a bar to obtaining the license.
5. A physician in is at odds with an HMO which says that the physician should repay over $100,000 in payments for services rendered to patients.
6. A physician is in a disagreement with Medicare concerning the manner in which the billing entries were submitted.
7. A nurse was fired from a hospital for the claim that she altered a medical record. We are in the process of dealing with the Office of Professional Discipline on the issue.
8. A nurse was fired from a facility on the charge that she wrongly certified medical data. I am representing her at the Office of Professional Discipline.
9. An out of state doctor had his license suspended by that state and New York wants to revoke his license. I have attended a Hearing on the issue and the result will not be known for several months.
10. I have a Hearing coming up for a physician who had his license suspended for substance abuse. I will represent him at the Hearing and will produce 7 witnesses to testify on his behalf.
11. A Chiropractor pled guilty to a crime and is waiting to be charged with misconduct. The state will not negotiate the matter so I will represent the chiropractor at the Hearing that will be held sometime in 2017.
12. A dentist was convicted of a crime years ago and spent some years in jail. He has been given a license by the Education Department and I represented him at an Interview with the Office of Professional Discipline. I am not sure there is any action the state can take against this dentist.
13. I represented a physician who had agreed not to practice while he went through substance abuse rehabilitation. A Hearing was held and his license was reinstated. He will return to work in November of this year.
14. I represented a physician in an OPMC issue regarding his prescribing of controlled substances. An agreement was reached and he has his license and is able to prescribe controlled substances with a monitor for 3 years.
15. I represented a physician in a lawsuit brought by a patient when the physician did not have any insurance. I was able to obtain a discontinuance of the suit without any payment by the client.
16. I am representing a physician who had a sexual encounter with a patient. We have not yet heard from OPMC, but I have had the doctor take CME courses regarding boundaries and have had the patient switched to another physician for treatment. Please note that this type of issue has licensure, civil lawsuit, and criminal implications.
I think the above list is sufficient for you to see the wide scope of issues I deal with on a daily basis. Unfortunately, problems like these can end up on your doorstep. Please try to avoid them at all costs or, if they come to fruition, make sure you become pro-active in defending yourself.
