Physicians who have lost their Medical Board license or find themselves on probation are often legally entitled to petition for license reinstatement or relief from license probation, under Business and Professions Code section 2307. This process is accessible to unrepresented parties through a petition, with instructions, available online. It is preferable, however, to hire an experienced licensing and regulatory law firm such as Ray & Bishop, PLC, to handle such matters. Below are some important aspects of Medical Board petitions for penalty relief – early termination of probation, relie ..read more

California Business and Professions Code section 2310 empowers the Medical Board of California to immediately and without prior notice suspend certain California physician licenses.  Business and Professions Code section 2310 provides that if a California physician’s license in another state is suspended or revoked outright and that action is reported to the National Practitioners Data Bank, and the physician’s primary place of practice is outside of California, the physician’s California license can be immediately suspended.  The suspension stays in place unless overturned by a hear ..read more

Mandated Reporting of Sexual Misconduct Allegations against California Licensed Physicians by Healthcare Facilities The Medical Board of California and other healthcare licensing boards hold licensed physicians and other healthcare licensees to an extremely high standard regarding sexual misconduct allegations. Every day physicians, and other healthcare licensees, who communicate with hundreds of patients each week, face the possibility of patients reporting unprofessional conduct, which can trigger a license investigation and license discipline. Existing laws require the Medical Board of Cali ..read more

Senate Bill (SB) 798 has made changes to postgraduate training and licensing requirements for all residents applying for a Physician’s and Surgeon’s Certificate with the Medical Board of California, effective January 1, 2020.  Previously, the Medical Board of California (MBC) only required international medical graduates (IMGs) to obtain a Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter (PTAL) to apply for residency and to train in California. SB 798 revisions no longer require international applicants to obtain a PTAL. Effective 2020, all domestic and international medical graduates must acqu ..read more

A physician client came to Ray & Bishop, PLC, after receiving a Statement of Issues from the California Medical Board alleging that the client had a history of substance abuse and mental health concerns.  The California Medical Board obtained the client’s medical history, and using the medical records from prior hospitals, alleged that the client demonstrated Unprofessional Conduct, Impairment, and Excessive Alcohol Use, under Business and Professions Code sections 2221 and 2234.  The Medical Board offered five years’ probation in settlement, but we took the matter before an Admi ..read more

The California Medical Board received 8,679 complaints in fiscal year 2015-16 according to its latest comprehensive enforcement activity report.  During that same period, 299 accusations were filed by the Medical Board of California.  Medical license defense cases came from complaints overwhelmingly from the public, but also from complaints from license and professional groups and other governmental agencies.  Physician license defense cases in that period resulted in 120 cases of license probation, 129 cases where the physician’s license was revoked or surrendered, and 62 publi ..read more

Under Business and Professions Code section 805, a hospital peer review committee makes a required report to the Medical Board of California.  An “805 Report,” as it’s called, is typically filed if a physician is denied hospital privileges or loses hospital privileges for longer than 30 days.  Suspensions longer than 14 days can require an 805 report, as can abandoning an application or resigning privileges with an investigation pending.  An 805 report must be filed within 15 days after the adverse event.  805 reports are not only filed by hospitals for loss or denial of pr ..read more

In response to a patient complaint, a report of a large malpractice settlement, or a report of a loss of privileges, among other reasons, the Medical Board of California may choose to investigate patient care.  Often, to an unsuspecting California physician, the first sign of trouble is receipt of a request for patient records from something called the “Division of Investigation.”  The request for patient records usually comes in the mail, but may be served by an investigator.  The letter is addressed “Dear Custodian of Records.”   With the letter, there should be a certifi ..read more