As you may know all too well, medical professionals are not immune to struggles with alcohol abuse and drug addiction. In fact, they may suffer from this more than the general public, likely given the stressful nature of their profession. If this is something that is personally affecting you and your work, you must not be ashamed to admit that you have a problem and work on fixing it from there. The New York State Department’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) may drive you toward this resolution regardless. With that being said, please read on to discover whether the OPMC will order you to submit to rehabilitation treatment and how a seasoned OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer at Walker Medical Law can get you the help you need.
Will I lose my license if I voluntarily enter rehabilitation?
It is in your best interest to be proactive and admit that you have a substance abuse issue. First of all, this is to protect your physical health and mental well-being. Secondly, though, this is for the sake of your patients’ health and well-being. This is because if you find yourself under the influence of drugs or alcohol while treating a patient of yours, your inevitable lack of good judgment and coordination may accidentally cause them harm. Ultimately, this may turn into a case of medical misconduct, and the OPMC will soon after intervene.
So, it is better to get in front of it and inform the OPMC about your addiction before they receive a complaint about you. From here, you may voluntarily check yourself into a rehabilitation center to get professional treatment. If you go about it in this way, the OPMC may not inflict major punishments on you. This is so long as you continually prove to comply with your recovery plan and stay on track in your sobriety. However, you must understand that when you return to work, the OPMC or your employer may hold the right to ask you to submit to regular monitoring, random alcohol and drug testing, continued attendance in individual and group therapy sessions, and more.
Will the OPMC order me to submit to rehabilitation treatment?
On the flip side, if you never come forward about your substance abuse issue, and it comes out in a medical misconduct case against you, the OPMC may be within their right to suspend your medical license. With this, they may not lift this suspension until you fulfill certain orders. Namely, until you complete a rehabilitation treatment program. Again, even when this suspension is lifted, you may still be subject to chaperoning at work, toxicology screenings, and more.
This may be considered as being let off easy, so to speak. That is, the OPMC may decide to flat-out revoke your medical license permanently, depending on the extremity of harm you inflicted on your patient(s). So, to give yourself enough time to develop a solid case, please be sure to get in touch with a competent OPMC/OPD misconduct defense lawyer from Walker Medical Law as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you.
