Discovering that your pharmacy professional license is under investigation can be stressful. You might worry about damaging your reputation, losing your career and livelihood, or facing criminal charges. The Board of Pharmacy takes allegations seriously, and even a seemingly minor allegation can result in disciplinary action. Therefore, you should take the complaint seriously, take the right steps, and retain a qualified attorney who can guide you through the disciplinary process.

Who is a Pharmacist?

A pharmacist is a healthcare expert trained to handle, store, dispense, and prepare different medications.

To become a pharmacist, you should complete rigorous training that includes earning a Doctor of Pharmacy and passing your licensure examinations. However, your education does not end there. You should stay abreast of the current pharmaceutical and medical advances through continuing education. It ensures that you can offer the safest and most accurate advice and service to your patients.

As a pharmacist, you can work in any of the following places:

  • Hospitals

  • Poison control facilities

  • Home care facilities

  • Mental health facilities

  • Medication distribution facilities

  • Oncology center

  • Cardiac care center

While the role of pharmacists varies depending on the place of work, here are examples of daily responsibilities of a pharmacist:

  • Confirming the dosage of medication prescribed by doctors

  • Preparing prescriptions

  • Ensuring that a specific medication will not interact with your patients' other drugs

  • Ensuring your patient is not at risk of an adverse reaction due to a prescription

  • Administering vaccines

  • Advising your patients about the side effects of their drugs and answering their questions

  • Educating your patients about when and how to take their medication

  • Performing administrative tasks and keeping records

  • Teach patients how to eat healthy, manage stress, and exercise

There are different types of pharmacists, including the following:

  • Community pharmacists

  • Clinical pharmacist

  • Hospital pharmacists

  • Nuclear pharmacist

  • Consultant pharmacist

The California Board of Pharmacy and Violations that Can Trigger Disciplinary Action

The California Board of Pharmacy monitors and regulates the practice of pharmacy. The board's mandate is to protect and promote the public's health and safety by pursuing high-quality care and the appropriate use of pharmaceuticals through communication, legislation, enforcement, regulation, and education.

The board has an enforcement unit that investigates reported administrative and criminal violations. It will include reviewing your professional records and interviewing you. Anyone can file a complaint against you, including your patients, colleagues, employer, insurance provider, or competitor. Some of the violations that can trigger disciplinary action include the following:

  • Mistakes in offering prescription details

  • Making mistakes when filing prescriptions

  • Misbranding or mislabelling medications

  • Dispensing controlled substances

  • Dispensing drugs without a valid prescription

  • Dispensing drugs for unauthorized purposes

  • Violating confidentiality rules

  • Appropriation of drugs for personal use

  • Record-keeping violations, including falsifying patient records or failing to complete your patient records

  • Making financial records, keeping violations, including billing or coding

Things unrelated to your profession and that occur outside your workplace can also threaten your professional license. They include the following:

  • Physical health challenges that impact your ability to work according to your pharmacy standards

  • Mental health problems that impact your ability to perform your job, including attention, concentration, cognition, and memory

  • Emotional health problems like anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, or depression that affect your ability to perform your work

  • Being charged with a crime that could damage your professional reputation

  • Engaging in harassment, discriminatory conduct, and sexual misconduct

If the board determines that the allegation has merit, it will send you an accusation. The accusation is a public record. However, if the board finds that the complaint lacks merit, it will close the investigation, and you will not face any disciplinary action.

Sometimes, the board can recommend taking corrective action instead of bringing an accusation if the investigators determine that the complaint has been mediated or that a minor violation occurred. For instance, if your violation involves failing to keep accurate records, the board might recommend completing a continuing education or remedial course in medical recordkeeping.

Responding to the Board Complaint against You

If you have an allegation against you, you might be wondering whether you should respond directly to your licensing board. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you are required to respond. It is in your best interest to acknowledge receipt of the complaint.

In your response, ensure you are truthful, though the timing and amount depend on whether your allegation is legitimate. If you are required to engage in an interview or submit a written response, you should be honest. Submitting false details can result in more severe disciplinary action, depending on the circumstances of the case.

Responding to a Legitimate Allegation

Typically, responding to a legitimate allegation involves mitigation. The board wants to understand why the violation happened, whether the victim was made whole, and what you have done to ensure that the violation will not occur in the future.

Mitigation is not completed immediately since it might not be feasible. Determining how an error occurred and how to make your patient whole is time-consuming. Additionally, it takes time to develop new procedures and policies and to train staff and management so that the violation does not recur. Consequently, you should provide a concise, accurate response and supplement it later, after the mitigation is complete.

Responding to an Illegitimate Allegation

Avoid rushing your response to an illegitimate allegation when your case facts prove that you are innocent. The goal is to have the complaint dismissed at the investigation stage. When you rush, you might forget information demonstrating that the allegation did not occur, or you might forget a crucial document proving the complainant is lying.

Additionally, you might not initially understand the allegation. The board might be hesitant to tell you what the allegation is about and the statute and administrative code you violated. Responding without fully understanding your allegation can result in providing the wrong details and the complaint proceeding through the disciplinary process.

What Happens When Your Licensing Board Requests a Follow-Up Response

Your follow-up response could be the ideal time to submit your mitigation documents, updates, and new information. Adequate time might have elapsed since your first response for you to work out your issues with the patient and implement new policies. You might also have obtained new details since your previous response, and it could benefit your case.

If you have obtained new details, do not wait for your licensing board to request a follow-up response. You can supplement the original response with your new details.

What to Do When Facing Professional License-Related Investigations

While learning that the board is investigating can be scary, taking the right steps can increase your chances of achieving a favorable outcome in your case. These actions are as follows:

Taking the Allegation and Investigation Seriously

You might first learn of the investigation when the board issues you a letter informing you of the investigation against you and what the investigators are looking for.

You should take your investigations seriously, even if you are certain that you have not committed any violation. An in-depth, comprehensive investigation can reveal issues that you are even unaware of.

Consider potential disciplinary action and act proactively, as your livelihood and career depend on your pharmacy professional license.

Retain a Competent Defense Attorney

Licensing agency investigations are administrative in nature and follow their own standards and rules that differ from criminal cases.

Even as a qualified professional, you can harm your case by offering a lot of information, confessing without realizing the adverse consequences, mismanaging procedural details, or using the wrong language. Making mistakes can cost you your pharmacy professional license. Retaining a lawyer can make the difference.

Your attorney can do the following:

  • Assessing the severity of the allegation against you

  • Assisting you in understanding the potential disciplinary outcome and the licensing board's process

  • Reviewing or drafting your response

  • Preparing you for hearings, conferences, and interviews

Here are other less-known ways that your attorney can assist you through the investigation:

  • Your lawyer will help you make strategic decisions —The investigators are trained to elicit the responses they want. Their goal is not to hear your version of the story. Your qualified attorney will decide whether you will speak with the investigators.

  • You are not alone — When facing an investigation, you might feel overwhelmed or isolated and give up fighting for your professional license. Your attorney is experienced and can stand by you through the process, ensuring you do not feel depressed or defeated.

  • Your lawyer can assist you in managing your details—The most effective strategy to defend against your investigation is having a clear picture of the events. However, gathering, managing, and interpreting the details can be tedious. Your attorney knows which information matters, what it means, and how to present the information.

  • The attorney is a skilled negotiator — Sometimes key aspects of the investigation happen off the record. Your licensing board may be willing to negotiate to resolve the professional disciplinary case more quickly. Your attorney can represent you in the negotiation so the board can drop the investigation, or you obtain a lighter disciplinary measure. Your attorney understands whom to speak with and what to say to obtain the most favorable case outcome.

  • Your lawyer can manage the bureaucracy on your behalf — Professional license investigations are complicated, and some complicated codes and rules should be adhered to, and making a mistake can result in more disciplinary problems. Your attorney can handle bureaucracy and paperwork for you.

You should avoid hiring a criminal defense lawyer who lacks experience with professional licensing laws. Most criminal defense lawyers do not know the effects of a conviction or taking a given plea on your professional life. What might look like a favorable case resolution can result in professional disciplinary proceedings later.

Inform Your Liability Insurance Carrier

If you have professional liability or malpractice insurance, alert the carrier immediately. Some policies cover legal costs associated with licensing agency investigations.

Failing to inform your insurer could jeopardize your coverage. Your lawyer can help you understand what details to share and how to respond.

Avoid Discussing Your Professional Case with Any Person Apart from than Your Competent Lawyer

It is unwise to discuss your investigation with your neighbors, colleagues, employers, or loved ones. While you might be tempted to vent, whatever you say could be used against you. On the contrary, the attorney-client privilege can protect whatever you tell your attorney.

You Should Cooperate with Your Lawyer

Sometimes, your lawyer might want additional resources, including witnesses, to build your defense. Assist them in every manner you can.

Prepare for the Long Run

Investigations are stressful and can be time-consuming. Therefore, you should prepare yourself for a long journey.

Gather Evidence

The board will focus on the investigations immediately after the investigation starts or starts collecting information about the violations. The investigators are obtaining records, statements, documents, and other relevant details to gain a comprehensive understanding of what happened.

You should gather and arrange relevant materials for the inquiry at this disciplinary phase. The documents can change the course of your disciplinary case. In many inquiries, it is not your statement versus the violation; it is the records versus your allegation.

When organizing your paperwork, do not change or hide anything. Even if your paperwork does not portray your perfect image, having documents that show you made a mistake is better than discarding or concealing them, since the board could impose severe disciplinary action against you after finding out.

Prepare for the Interview with Your Licensing Board

You are unprepared for your board interview if you do not understand the bone of contention and the potential inquiries. The interview is not the place to come and watch how events unfold.

The investigators are trained to ask incriminating questions, and at the end of the interview, they will have concluded the case. Most of their questions are planned in advance, and if your responses are misleading, the investigators can ask you to answer questions tailored to show a lack of candor. Allowing your attorney to handle your communications with the investigators can help you avoid making a mistake.

Additionally, demonstrate professionalism and confidence throughout your interview; first impressions matter. How you present yourself during your interview can significantly impact how the board will perceive you. Put on clothes that convey seriousness and respect. Finally, be mindful of your body language. Maintain eye contact, sit up straight, and avoid fidgeting.

Do Not Be Tempted to Deceive the Licensing Agency

If you are contemplating deceiving the board either in a written statement or when responding to questions during the interview, you are assuming a pending risk. The board has proficient investigators and resources to conduct background investigations. If you have previously faced professional disciplinary action, you can expect the board to investigate your current violation thoroughly.

Your attempts to lie to the board will be uncovered, resulting in the loss of your standing with your licensing agency. Your attorney should guide you on when to be accountable, admit fault, present mitigating evidence, and take appropriate measures to prevent repeating the wrongdoing in the future.

What to Expect After Investigators Find the Allegation has Merit

After receiving the accusation, you can either challenge it or submit to it. You have fifteen days to file your notice of defense. Responding expresses your interest in challenging the accusation at the administrative hearing. When you fail to file your notice of defense, the board will impose a default disciplinary action without listening to your side of the story.

After filing the notice of defense, the board will send you its discovery on the case and request your discovery. The agency's discovery review of the evidence against you could be your starting point for building your defense.

Although the board will book an administrative hearing, you and your attorney can present defense arguments and evidence to the board and settle the matter through negotiation. Reaching a stipulated settlement is a more favorable case outcome.

Your experienced attorney will review your available options and know what to say. The stipulated settlement is ideal if you have favorable mitigating proof and you are willing to accept administrative sanctions.

If you do not agree, the case will proceed to an administrative hearing before an administrative law judge. During the hearing, you and the board will present your side of the story, arguments, and evidence. The ALJ will recommend a disciplinary action that the board can amend, adopt, or reject. Common disciplinary actions include public reprimand, fines, suspension, revocation, and probation.

You can challenge the disciplinary action by bringing a Writ of Mandate to the Superior Court. The writ reviews whether the ALJ made a legal or factual mistake or abused their discretion.

Find a Skilled Attorney Near Me

If you are informed that the board is investigating you, do not take the matter lightly or ignore it. You should also avoid speaking with the investigator to explain your side of the story, thinking the board will dismiss your case. Instead, you should act proactively and strategically. The Legal Guardian understands the gravity of what you are going through and can stand with you throughout the process. We can review the facts of your case to help you understand your options and rights and answer your questions. We can approach your case with the discretion and seriousness it deserves. Please contact our Long Beach office at 866-448-6811 to schedule your initial consultation.