From California's Premier Professional Licensing Law Firm
As of January 1, 2022, an amendment to SB-806, Section 125.3, reimposes the Medical Board of California’s ability to recover costs when investigating and prosecuting licensed physicians facing discipline from the very physicians they are prosecuting.
What is cost recovery?
For the Medical Board of California, cost recovery for pursuing discipline against a physician accused
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California Business and Professions Code section 2310 empowers the Medical Board of California to immediately and without prior notice suspend certain California physician licenses. Business and Professions Code section 2310 provides that if a California physician’s license in another state is suspended or revoked outright and that action is reported to the National Practitioners Data…
California’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System, or C.U.R.E.S. (CURES) for short, is a prescription monitoring program aggregating DEA Schedule II, II and IV prescriptions. Maintained by the California Department of Justice and primarily used by physicians, podiatrists, dentists, physician assistants, optometrists, nurse practitioners, pharmacies and pharmacists, C.U.R.E.S. represents a massive, relatively…
The Department of Consumer Affairs, or DCA, is a California state government department that is the umbrella organization over almost all California state licensing agencies, from the Medical Board of California to the California Board of Accountancy. If a California licensing agency receives a complaint or notice of alleged unprofessional conduct alleged to…
The Medical Board of California brought an accusation against our doctor client for a 0.11% blood alcohol level drunk driving conviction. The Medical Board cited the fact that the physician admitted to the police officer that he was on call in demanding harsh punishment. In settlement negotiations, the Board’s minimum offer was a five year…
The California Medical Board received 8,679 complaints in fiscal year 2015-16 according to its latest comprehensive enforcement activity report. During that same period, 299 accusations were filed by the Medical Board of California. Medical license defense cases came from complaints overwhelmingly from the public, but also from complaints from license and professional groups and other…
In response to a patient complaint, a report of a large malpractice settlement, or a report of a loss of privileges, among other reasons, the Medical Board of California may choose to investigate patient care. Often, to an unsuspecting California physician, the first sign of trouble is receipt of a request for patient records from…
The Medical Board of California investigates complaints against physicians using its team of investigators who work from its headquarters in Sacramento and from its field offices. Complaints may come from CURES reports reviews, 805 reports, lawsuits, or patient complaints. For many complaints, an assigned investigator will contact the physician and ask the physician to…
Since late 2015, the Medical Board of California and the California Board of Pharmacy have begun to increase enforcement actions and penalties for perceived overprescribing of prescription drugs, particularly opioid drugs such as hydrocodone and oxycodone (Vicodin and OxyContin/Percocet). High-profile celebrity deaths due to opioid overdose, coupled with rising addiction rates nationwide, have…
Our firm just received a decision from the fourth consecutive disciplinary case against a physician by the Medical Board of California. The physician was already on probation, and in two prior cases, the physician’s probation had been extended. The Board accused the physician of misconduct while on probation, and forced the physician to make statements…
