Being accused of a criminal act can be stressful enough. When you hold a medical license, not only do you have to defend yourself against the charges, but you will likely need to defend your medical license with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). If you are arrested, your first reaction may be to keep this news as quiet as possible, however, under the rules of the Illinois Medical Board, you are required to notify the board if you are facing certain criminal charges.

Felony Defenses

Under the rules of the IDFPR, a doctor is required to self-report if they have been arrested for any felony offense. One of the most common crimes that medical professionals are arrested for is healthcare fraud. These charges are usually brought forth by federal prosecutors since they usually involve fraud against Medicare or Medicaid. These allegations are very serious – not only does the accused face prison time and hefty fines if they are convicted, but their professional future is also in jeopardy since it also could mean loss of medical license or at the very least, loss of provider status.

Examples of the most recent cases of healthcare fraud arrests include:

The state of Illinois has stringent requirements for any resident wishing to own a gun. The state has certain requirements a person must meet to obtain a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card. There are also certain factors that may result in a person being denied a FOID or having a current card revoked. If this has happened to you, do not delay in contacting an Illinois FOID attorney, especially if you currently own guns.

High Number of FOID Revocations Not Accounted For

According to recent testimony from members of the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department to Illinois lawmakers, approximately 20,000 Cook County residents are holding revoked FOID cards. The testimony occurred at a hearing about how the state can curb violence and gun crimes.

The testimony revealed that approximately 33,000 Cook County residents have had their FOID cards revoked. Reasons for the revocations include domestic violence charges, felony convictions, or serious mental health issues. Of that number, almost 20,000 of those residents have not turned in their cards to law enforcement.

Licensed nursing professionals are dedicated to helping people when they are sick and helping them stay healthy. One of the tools of their job is accessing a patient’s medical record to look up and record important and relevant information about the patient.

But those medical records are highly confidential. They are so confidential that the federal government passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to ensure that patients’ privacy is protected. Violating HIPAA could result in serious consequences and could even put your nursing license in jeopardy.

Privacy Violations

Because the majority of medical providers use electronic medical records (EMR), it is a lot easier for any violations to be discovered by the facility's IT department. Viewing a patient’s record without permission can lead to serious disciplinary action, depending on the circumstances of the violation. Penalties can range from a warning by an employer all the way to criminal charges.

Medical practitioners in Illinois owe their patients a duty of care to provide them with reasonable medical care according to their education and skill. Part of this duty of care is the responsibility to protect patients from harm. Although an essential part of being a doctor is constantly weighing the risks and rewards of particular treatments, evaluating important factors becomes difficult or impossible when a doctor is working under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

Studies show that the vast majority of doctors who have faced medical license disciplinary action for providing treatment while intoxicated did not cause harm that was threatening to the patient’s life. Nor did they cause their supporting staff to report feeling distressed about the situation. However, clear cases of patient misdiagnoses, poor treatment, and other mistakes do occur because of physician intoxication and licensing disciplinary boards take this behavior seriously. If you are being accused of practicing under the influence, it is important to retain legal help right away. 

What is the IDFPR Disciplinary Process Look Like? 

The disciplinary process can look a little different depending on the circumstances of your case, but the general procedure is typically the same and involves the following steps: 

In response to growing levels of burnout and psychological distress in the pharmacy industry, the National Association of Board of Pharmacy (NABP) in coordination with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) has developed an online self-assessment tool. The tool, which is designed to be taken by pharmacists, pharmacy students, and pharmacy technicians, consists of nine questions and can be completed in less than one minute. The respondents retain anonymity but, based on their responses, are given resources that can help improve their well-being. They can also compare their results to peers and national averages. One benefit of the tool could be to reduce errors and behaviors that can put a pharmacist’s license at risk.

Additional Stresses on the Pharmacy Industry

The pharmacy profession already suffered from high rates of burnout before the COVID-19 pandemic hit over two years ago. High workloads, stressful working conditions, and technological challenges all contributed to feelings of distress among pharmacy industry workers, with over 60% showing signs of burnout. The pandemic added additional safety protocols, staffing shortages, drug shortages, and supply chain issues, plus the controversial nature of COVID treatments and the small but vocal public distrust of the healthcare field in general.

The tool, which is known as the Pharmacist Well-Being Index (WBI), was created by the Mayo Clinic. Based on the responses to simple yes/no questions, it measures multiple dimensions of distress and well-being. Instead of having to infer or guess what industry professionals need, the creators and individual state boards of pharmacy hope the results of the survey tool can be used to design and implement effective interventions in the pharmacy industry. Research shows that only 14.5% of pharmacy professionals knew where resources to help burnout could be found. Illinois is among the states that had already begun to look at working conditions in the pharmacy industry and could be helped by this tool.