When a physician is involved in a disciplinary proceeding with the Texas Medical Board, Department of Public Safety, or other governmental entity that will likely result in some variety of Board order, it is critically important to carefully craft the final agreement so as to avoid trouble down the line. All provider networks have standing policies regarding the credentialing of physicians who have been sanctioned by a state agency. Many of them can be particularly harsh and can bar a physician from inclusion in their network if they have an active disciplinary order.

 

Frequently, the physician’s well-meaning but uninformed attorney will obtain, and advise their client to accept, a disciplinary order that imposes a relatively minor sanction. Later, the doctor, as required, discloses the occurrence of the Board Order on their credentialing renewal applications. The Provider networks will then deny re-credentialing on the basis of the disciplinary order. The physician is then put in the difficult position of being fully licensed to practice yet suddenly unable to see a potentially broad section of their former patients. Absence of credentialing with key networks can also jeopardize a physician’s position in a group practice or institutional setting.

 

An experienced attorney with a full understanding of the possible implications of any given outcome can work from the start with the physician and the Texas Medical Board with an eye to ensuring a result that will not damage that doctor’s standing within provider networks and place them in a good position to obtain credentialing with new networks in the future.

 

Outside of an outright dismissal, this can oftentimes be done through an order that is remedial, not disciplinary in nature. Such an order could provide for additional CME hours or the payment of an administrative penalty. This can be particularly appropriate where the allegations relate to inadequate record-keeping, over-billing, or a minor violation of a standing Agreed Order. An added benefit of such an agreement is that they typically terminate as soon as the penalty is paid or the extra CME hours are completed removing them from the purview of many provider networks’ policies excluding physician’s who are under active Board Orders. Such an agreement also does not involve any restrictions on a physician’s practice or prescribing authority, another plus both on its own and when dealing with insurance networks.

 

Another option may be to seek a confidential rehabilitative order. This often applies to physicians with chemical dependency or intemperate use issues. Such a confidential order remains secret as long as the physician remains in compliance and does not have to be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank or disclosed to provider networks.

 

Either of the above choices typically requires careful preparation of the client and their case for presentation to the Medical Board. It may involve the gathering of extensive mitigating and remedial evidence. The key point is to convince the Board that the licensee has recognized and accepted responsibility for their error and has taken the remedial steps necessary to prevent any reoccurrence of the underlying allegations such that a minor order would be warranted in their case.

 

This difficult task is best accomplished by an attorney familiar with the Texas Medical Board and its procedures and who is also aware of the potential consequences a given order can have on a physician’s credentialing status in provider networks. Trying for the best resolution rather than a merely acceptable one will pay off later by avoiding the additional stress, attorney’s fees, and lost patients that travel with credentialing denials.