Top penalties doctors may face from medical boards

Reaching where you currently are in your medical career doubtless took years of hard work and high financial cost. The road to becoming an established doctor is long and arduous. Unfortunately, all of that can quickly face jeopardy from allegations of unprofessional or criminal conduct.

You may panic and worry about losing your ability to practice. On the other hand, you may not think it is a big deal because the case against you is insufficient. Either way, it is good to know what consequences you are likely to face if Louisiana’s medical board finds you guilty, so you can have a realistic perspective and appropriate defense for your situation.

Disciplinary action involving licensure

According to MDLinx, the top penalty is license restriction, meaning the loss of authority to complete certain tasks, such as prescribing medication. Other disciplinary actions and their place in line are as follows:

• Suspension (7th)
• Surrender (9th)
• Revocation (10th)

As you can see, a restriction is the most likely, with the others coming into play in more severe cases, such as a felony conviction.

Other common penalties

In second place is a simple reprimand that may come in the form of a public or private warning or letter. Next is administrative action that does not affect your ability to practice medicine. For example, you may have to repay insurance companies. The fourth most common is a monetary fine, and fifth is having to meet specific conditions to prevent further discipline.

The next most common is having to take continuing education courses, most applicable to cases involving standard of care. After the aforementioned license suspension comes probation, wherein you have to undergo monitoring for a set time.

Even if you escape major discipline, going through the process may still cause harm. You may lose patients, have to change your place of employment or experience emotional turmoil and stress. Criminal charges and convictions also have their own long-term consequences.