As a licensed physical therapist in San Francisco, your license is your primary ticket to doing what you have always wanted to do and earning a decent living. However, your close interaction with patients and their families can land you in trouble with the Board of Physical Therapy, especially if a customer is injured or unsatisfied. You could lose your reputation, or worse, your license.
Fortunately, you can defend your license and livelihood with our skilled attorneys at San Francisco License Attorney. We can work together to develop a defense strategy that safeguards your career, reputation, and livelihood.
What It Takes to Become a Certified Physical Therapist in California
Being a physical therapist is one of the most fulfilling jobs in California. You will work closely with people recovering their mobility after an accident or a long-term illness. Seeing a patient make significant progress over a particular period can be highly rewarding. Of greater reward is the kind of income you earn as a certified physical therapist. Individuals and families are willing to pay top dollar for quality services that will not only improve their mobility but also the quality of their lives. You can live comfortably while helping people improve their lives after a difficult period.
However, not everyone can become a physical therapist. This is one of the careers that requires a deep calling to help the most vulnerable members of society. It starts with a strong desire to help, followed by extensive and intensive training. The training helps you build a skill set to handle a range of physical issues that affect people’s mobility. The skills also help you diagnose and recommend appropriate and effective treatment for your patients. You are also trained to handle all kinds of patients and their individual needs.
The extensive training begins with earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. You must pass the National Examination after the training, after which you can submit your application to obtain a license. The Physical Therapy Board must verify your academic credentials and run a background check on you to ensure you are fully qualified for licensing. A license is a ticket to operate legally in California. You can find work in a hospital, nursing home, or open your own practice. You can work for pay or offer your services freely, depending on your life goals.
However, all this training does not protect you when a complaint is brought against you. If you are accused of unprofessionalism, incompetence, or negligence, the board can take action against your license. This puts your license at risk of suspension or revocation. A complaint can be from any member of the public, whether a current or former patient. Depending on the seriousness of the complaint, you can lose your livelihood temporarily or permanently.
License defense services help you fight for a career you have built over the years. Remember how long it took you to obtain the skills you have today. Also, remember how much it costs you to pay for training, experience, and licensing. You should fight for a favorable outcome when an issue is raised against you that threatens your reputation or career. A competent license attorney can help.
Complaints You Can Face as a Licensed Physical Therapist in California
Even with all the help physical therapists offer, especially to needy members of society, the public will likely complain if they are dissatisfied or feel threatened. Patients also complain when injured or when put in danger. The Board of Physical Therapy screens qualified physical therapists well before licensing to avoid some of these complaints. It ensures only professionals with the right skills and attitude are certified. The board also educates the public on what to watch out for when hiring physical therapists to protect their general well-being. When the public raises concerns, the board acts swiftly to protect its interests.
Here are common complaints physical therapists face and how they can affect your career:
Negligence and Substandard Care
You can be accused of negligence if you fail to offer the kind of help a patient needs to feel better or improve their quality of life. Negligence can be ordinary or gross, depending on the degree of harm it causes a patient. Most physical therapists are accused of substandard care if they lack sufficient skills to handle a particular condition or patient. Sadly, negligence puts patients at great risk of harm. This can result in the board suspending or revoking your license.
Sexual Misconduct
In your interactions with patients, you may develop unhealthy relationships that could threaten your career. This can result in sexual misconduct accusations. The board expects a professional physical therapist to maintain a healthy, professional relationship with all their patients. If you engage in intimate relationships with your patients, you could lose your license. Additionally, a patient can accuse you of sexual harassment or unlawful sexual contact, which is a criminal offense that could result in criminal charges. The board can cancel your license even before the conclusion of your case.
Fraud and Billing Issues
A fraudulent act happens when you do something for personal gain or to take advantage of another person or company. This is very common in the healthcare industry, especially when healthcare professionals seek more financial gain than they deserve from their services. You can be accused of fraud if you charge more than you should for a particular treatment or bill an insurance provider for services not rendered. The board can permanently revoke your license for such actions, leaving you without a livelihood.
Unlicensed Practice and Supervision
In some cases, physical therapists hire unlicensed or unqualified assistants to cut costs or to bypass the Board of Physical Therapy’s strict regulations. This can put your license at risk by endangering your patients. An unlicensed assistant may not be qualified to provide quality, safe services to your patients. The board requires you to consider qualifications before hiring and to supervise everyone you hire to help in your practice adequately. If this is not done, you could lose your professional license.
Criminal Arrests and Convictions
Licensed physical therapists in California are also expected to be law-abiding citizens. This protects their professionalism. This means that a criminal arrest or conviction can seriously affect your relationship with your licensing board. If you have an undisclosed prior arrest or conviction, the board can take action against your license. A current arrest or conviction for serious crimes like drugs, sex, DUI, domestic violence, or fraud can also affect your career.
The Administrative Process by the Physical Therapy Board
When the board is notified about a physical therapist’s unprofessional conduct, negligence, or incompetence, it takes action to protect the public. However, it first determines the authenticity of the allegation before launching an investigation. If the complaint cannot be substantiated, the board dismisses it immediately. However, if the board substantiates a complaint against you, it will start investigating to gather more evidence. The investigation can take a few days, weeks, or months, depending on the gravity of the matter. Within this time, the board can take action against you, like placing you on probation.
You will be notified of the pending investigation immediately after the board decides to take action. This gives you enough time to plan your defense. The best option at that time is to hire an attorney for legal support and advice. They will determine the nature and seriousness of the complaint, possible outcome, and the best defense strategy to avoid severe disciplinary action against your license and livelihood. They will also fight for your rights and support you throughout the administrative process.
Once the board has enough evidence to take action, it will hold an administrative hearing to determine the best course of action. The board will also appoint an administrative judge to oversee the proceedings. The judge will hear evidence gathered by the board and by you to counter the complaint and decide the matter. You are allowed to table evidence, bring in eyewitnesses, and cross-examine anyone that the board brings to support the complaint. An experienced attorney can handle this perfectly well and influence the judge’s final decision.
Once the hearing is done, the administrative judge will give their final verdict in the matter. They can propose dismissing the allegation, especially if there is insufficient evidence to support a disciplinary action. The board may also propose one of the many disciplinary actions it may impose on those found guilty of incompetence or unprofessionalism. The kind of defense you put up during this process will also determine the judge’s final verdict. If you use evidence to counter the allegation, the judge can dismiss your case. If you use mitigating factors, the judge may propose a more lenient discipline.
Types of Disciplinary Actions and Possible Outcomes
The following are the most common disciplinary actions the Board of Physical Therapy uses:
Public Citations
This is a very common way to discipline a lenient complaint regarding a licensed physical therapist. It can be accompanied by a requirement to pay a fine to the board. Citations do not directly affect your license, as you can continue serving your patients as if the administrative process had not occurred. However, they are issued publicly, which means the public has access.
The citation will go into your record, making it accessible to anyone running a background check on you. This means that a potential or current employer, or a potential or current patient, can find out about the complaint. This can eventually affect your reputation and livelihood.
Public Reprimands
Instead of a citation and fine, the board may decide to issue a reprimand letter to caution you against similar conduct in the future. This, too, does not directly affect your license and livelihood. However, since it also appears on your record, it can ruin your career and reputation if anyone runs a background check and finds the citation. You could eventually lose your job or patients.
License Probations
These are mainly used during board investigations to reduce or curb interference. If the board suspects that you can influence the investigation, it may put your license on probation for a few weeks, months, or years. This will not affect your job, but it may include restrictions that can affect how you deliver your services. You will not be free to discharge your services until the end of the probation.
License Suspension or Revocation
These are very extreme but possible disciplinary actions in case of severe violations. The board uses license suspensions and revocations in case a person’s life is at risk of harm. Suspensions are temporary, but they can ruin your career and leave you without an income for prolonged periods. You cannot legally serve a patient’s needs until you successfully reinstate your license after the suspension period.
On the other hand, license revocations are permanent. Although they are rare, the board can revoke a physical therapist’s license if they act with gross negligence, thereby putting the public at risk of severe physical, emotional, or financial harm. Once your license is revoked, you will no longer be able to practice as a physical therapist.
An experienced license attorney can defend your license from any kind of allegation. They can prevent a severe disciplinary action by the board. They can act early in the process to negotiate a settlement or use a strong defense for a favorable verdict.
Find an Experienced License Attorney Near Me
Is your physical therapy license at risk of suspension or revocation in San Francisco?
A suspension or revocation will leave you without an income for a very long time. It may also mark an end to a career that has cost you money and taken you a long time to build. That is why you need a license attorney’s help fighting for it.
We can help at the San Francisco License Attorney. We can use the best possible defense strategies to convince the board to dismiss the complaint or to rule in your favor. We will also ensure that your rights are respected throughout the administrative process. Call us at 415-707-6383 to work with us.
