Issues addressed by the Board are broad ranging. They may be simple, such as a patient contending that the care rendered is beneath the accepted standard of care, that there were overcharges for the medical services provided or that your office does not meet appropriate standards of cleanliness.  They can also be extremely serious, such as having inappropriate contact with a patient or practicing medicine without a license.  Currently, the Board is closely scrutinizing the narcotic prescribing habits of physicians, largely secondary to the high number of heroin addicts who were started down this course with the over prescribing of narcotics by well-intentioned physicians.  There are many physicians whom the Board has determined prescribed, tracked or followed up on narcotics indiscriminately and improperly.   Board decisions have resulted in the suspension or revocation of licenses as well as the assessment of significant fines.

If your initial contact with a  Board is a letter of inquiry, read it carefully and be sure you understand everything.  If you are not clear as to what it is  asking, you may want to involve the services of an experienced healthcare attorney at this point.  In either case, give the Board what  it requests, and only what they request, in a timely fashion.  Do not let the letter get misplaced in a pile of mail.  A failure to respond to an initial inquiry will definitely trigger a response from the Board.  Remember, the Board has all the power and, if it senses that a practitioner is being uncooperative,  it will use its power.  It is also at this point that you should probably put a healthcare attorney, experienced in these matters  on notice.  An attorney's insight and understanding can be invaluable in helping you to respond most appropriately and diffuse the situation as quickly as possible.

This initial inquiry letter from the Board and your response can result in the Board sending you a letter stating that they are satisfied with your response and are dismissing the complaint.  Alternately, if your initial response does not satisfy their concerns,  it will either request further information or schedule  an in-person hearing before either a subcommittee of the Board or the full Board itself.  If your matter reaches this stage of investigation, YOU NEED A HEALTHCARE ATTORNEY.  It is at this time that you have been put on notice that you are in jeopardy of serious consequences.  Even if you are sure that you have done nothing wrong, you need an attorney.  Do not wander into the legal morass of a  Board investigation alone.  The results can be disastrous.

If your first contact with the  Board of Medical Examiners is an investigator appearing at your office with a subpoena to serve,  accept the subpoena.  This means that a complaint has been filed with the Board and that the process of an investigation has already begun.  The subpoena, explains what information it wants from you and the time frame in which you are to supply it.  DON'T DISREGARD A SUBPOENA!  This is a legal document and is more authoritative than a letter of inquiry. 

However, if an investigator comes to your door unannounced, you do not have to let him come in.  He will probably ask if he can come in and walk through or tour your office, but do not let him beyond your lobby until you talk to your attorney.  If you don't have an attorney on speed dial, stall him by  saying that you have to speak to your attorney, and then find one.  Make sure that your office staff knows this as well in the event that  an investigator should arrive unannounced when you are not there.  Once you or your staff permits him to come in past the waiting room ("asked in"), anything  he finds is fair game and in-play for the investigation, even if it is not related to the original complaint being investigated.   You also do not have to talk to  him at that time.   Anything you say could be admissible in a Board hearing or court of law and could be used against you.  So always deny  access to your office and your staff and don't answer any questions without first contacting your attorney.    

If an investigator appears at your office with a search warrant, then the  Board  has a major concern of severe improprieties. You cannot deny  access to whatever is specified in the search warrant.  Call your attorney immediately and say nothing.  Even if you are completely blameless of any impropriety, you are not going to be able to convince the investigator of your innocence at that time.  Nothing that you say at that time is going to help you, but it may severely harm you.  Remember, while the primary charge of any Board investigation is the protection of the public, criminal prosecution may follow if the findings of a Board investigation suggest that there is illegal activity involved, the Board can easily turn the investigation and, if indicated, criminal prosecution, over to the Attorney General's office.

Clearly, enlisting the services of a healthcare attorney early in any inquiry by a Board of Medical Examiners will help to minimize your staff and your anxiety, control the proceedings and increase your chance of achieving an optimal outcome.