Medical Board Investigation: What Physicians Should Expect
Each year, the Medical Board of California gets more than 8,000 complaints about doctors. When a complaint comes in, the Board’s Central Complaint Unit first reviews it to see if the issue falls under its authority. If it does, the unit starts an investigation.
A Board investigation is the start of a formal process that can lead to discipline, including losing your medical license. If the Board contacts you for an interview about a complaint or asks your practice for certified medical records or a patient care summary, you should treat it as serious. It can put your ability to keep practicing medicine at risk. The first thing you do should be to speak with an experienced California license defense lawyer.
The Medical Board of California’s enforcement process has many steps and can be hard to understand. At each stage, a California healthcare license defense lawyer can speak for you and protect your interests. If you receive a request from the Board for certified medical records or an interview, it is important to know what comes next and how to respond the right way.
What Prompts an Interview Request?
It is important to know that the Medical Board usually does not contact a doctor unless there is a problem, such as a complaint. Complaints can come from many places, including a patient, a family member, a coworker, a pharmacy, a competitor, or an employer. California law also requires insurance companies to report malpractice settlements of $30,000 or more to the Medical Board.
Once the Central Complaint Unit starts a full investigation, the doctor will get a letter about the complaint. The letter may include a form signed by the patient that allows the Board to request the patient’s medical records. It will tell the doctor to send in those records.
Under California law, the requested medical records must be turned over within 15 days. If they are not, the doctor can be fined $1,000 for each extra day they are late, up to a total of $10,000.
The letter may also ask the doctor to write a summary explaining the care and treatment given to the patient. Usually, this summary must be sent in within 14 to 21 days. It is very important to speak with a lawyer who handles Medical Board cases before you write and submit this summary.
A California healthcare license defense lawyer can work with you, your supervisors, and sometimes a medical expert to prepare the best response. Along with your written statement, the Board may also accept helpful medical articles, proof of relevant continuing education courses, and other information that shows steps you have taken to address the issue.
After the Board gets your response, one of its medical experts, usually another doctor, reviews it along with the complaint and the medical records. The expert then decides whether to close the case or send it on for further review.
At any time during this process, a Board investigator may contact a doctor and ask for an in-person interview. The request might come by phone, by letter, or in person. If this happens, the most important step is to speak with an attorney right away.
What Should I Expect?
If a Board investigator asks you to talk or sit for an interview, you should contact a lawyer right away. Do not go into the meeting unprepared or alone. Speaking with the Board without legal help can hurt your case and affect the final outcome.
If the Board tells you to attend an interview as part of an investigation, you must go. If you do not show up, the Board can file a separate charge for unprofessional conduct, unless you have a good, provable reason for missing it.
You have the right to have a lawyer with you during a Board interview. If a Board investigator contacts you, you can say you are willing to talk, but only with your lawyer present. Get the investigator’s contact details and call a lawyer right away.
Board interviews are usually attended by the investigator handling your case and a medical expert for the Board. Sometimes, a lawyer from the Office of the Attorney General also comes to the interview.
At the start of the interview, you will need to show a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, to confirm who you are. The interview will be recorded. You may bring your own recorder, and you can ask for a copy of the investigator’s recording when the interview takes place.
Before your interview, you should get ready by reviewing the patient records, if that makes sense for your case, and looking over the care you provided. If you do not have the records, you or your lawyer can go to the Board’s office and examine them there. Your attorney can help you prepare and explain the kinds of questions you may be asked, including questions about whether your care met proper medical standards.
You may be asked to give details about:
- The complaint itself
- Your job and hospital work history
- Any past discipline
- Any criminal record
- Alcohol or drug use
- Mental health history
- Any mental health or substance abuse hospital stays
Some of these questions may feel very personal and may not seem related to the complaint. Still, stay calm and answer politely. Do not argue, get defensive, or lose your temper. You can ask for a break at any time to speak with your lawyer or just to collect yourself.
If a question is unclear or confusing, ask the investigator to explain it before you answer. If you do not know the answer, do not guess. Just say you do not know. Before the interview, work with your lawyer on a plan for handling hard questions. Remember, the Board’s job is to protect public health and safety.
With your lawyer’s help, you may decide to prepare a statement about what happened during the patient’s care. You can explain any problems, what you have done to keep them from happening again, and what you could have done better.
After the interview, the recording and the complaint records are sent to a medical expert in your specialty for review. The expert will decide whether to close the case or send it to the Office of the Attorney General. In most cases, you will get a letter telling you the decision. If the case is sent forward, a formal charge will likely be filed against you, which starts the discipline process.
What Should I Do If the Medical Board Asks Me for an Interview?
If a Medical Board investigator asks you for an interview, contact a California healthcare license defense lawyer right away. It does not matter if the request sounds formal or informal; it is serious and could affect your medical license. Do not speak with the investigator or the Board alone. Have your lawyer with you and prepare for the interview together.
If a Medical Board investigator asks to interview you, it can seriously affect your medical license. In some cases, it could even lead to criminal charges if the case is sent to prosecutors. What you say in the interview can be used against you in both license discipline cases and criminal cases.
Keep this in mind: the Medical Board usually does not contact a doctor unless there is a problem. Most of the time, they reach out because they received a complaint from someone like a patient, coworker, pharmacist, insurance company, or a prosecutor’s office. After that, the Board may be required, or may choose to open an investigation, which can lead to a request for an interview.
Doctors obviously have rights during Medical Board investigations and discipline cases. One key right is having a lawyer with you during Board interviews. Be careful if an investigator says the interview is “no big deal” or tries to get you to talk without a lawyer. Even a casual or “informal” talk can lead to serious problems for your medical license and your ability to keep practicing.
Gould, Hahn, & Reinhardt
The experienced California medical license defense lawyers at Gould, Hahn & Reinhardt can help you get ready for your interview. We will explain the kinds of questions you may be asked and how to answer them. We can also tell you which questions you have the right not to answer. Our lawyers can also show you how to handle unclear questions and what to do if the investigator unscrupulously tries to twist your words.
We will carefully review the records and help you understand what they show and get you ready to answer questions about your care and any other issues tied to the complaint.
If the Medical Board has contacted you, do not wait and do not handle it alone. Get clear advice about your rights and your next steps as soon as possible. Call a California healthcare license defense lawyer at Gould, Hahn, & Reinhardt at (800) 428-2207 or fill out the contact form on our website for a confidential consultation.