Total Health Law Blog
Our healthcare and business law firm often assists physicians and other providers in obtaining and maintaining licensure. Sometimes, either because of a complaint or other process, the medical board or other professional licensing board will request to meet with someone they license. Usually, this is because the board has some concern about the licensee. This post outlines three steps for preparing for such a meeting. If you need assistance preparing for a meeting or interview with your licensing board or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@hamillittle.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.hamillittle.com.
Step 1: Consult Your Health Law Attorney
There are many reasons for this. Your health law attorney uses his or her experience with licensing boards to strategize your approach. Your attorney can also work with the licensing board to gain further insight into what the board is concerned with. This can be invaluable in helping you prepare.
Step 2: Take Steps to Alleviate the Board’s Concerns
Once you understand the board’s concerns, the next step is strategizing what you can do to alleviate those concerns. For instance, if it’s a professionalism issue, you should consider whether you should complete a professionalism course, your colleagues may write a letter of reference, you should sit for an evaluation by a psychiatrist or therapist, etc. If it’s a knowledge or competence issue, can you take a refresher course, attend a training, take a skill-level examination, etc.? These are just examples. You and your health law attorney can discuss ways to alleviate the board’s concern. We have found that almost always, it’s a good idea to have a reference letter from the licensee’s employer. Consider whether to present all of these steps as a packet to the board prior to the meeting.
Step 3: Prepare for the Meeting or Interview
You and your health law attorney likely should hold a session to prepare for the meeting. During that session, you can strategize what to focus on and what to avoid during the board meeting. You can also practice answering questions. Likely, you will want to come prepared to address the issue head on without waiting for questions, but you should also be prepared to answer questions. In our experience, most licensing boards will allow counsel to attend any meeting or interview, however, the board always wants to hear directly from the licensee so the attorney will likely keep comments to a minimum.
If you need assistance preparing for a meeting or interview with your licensing board or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@hamillittle.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.hamillittle.com.