Texas Health Care Law Blog

When it comes time for your initial nursing license application or renewal, you will be asked questions about your criminal history. These questions are not unique to the nursing profession. Many people with professional licenses go through a similar process.

The purpose of these questions is not to determine whether you are a “good” or “bad” person. However, when you’re caring for the public, it’s important that people place a high-level of trust in your profession.

For years, you led a double life, and no one knew about it. Not even your spouse. As a well-respected physician, you helped people, did your best to solve their health problems and guided them through their most challenging journeys. But you also had a substance abuse problem. It did not affect your job, or so you thought.

The signs were there, though. Irritability, changes in personality, difficulty with work-related matters, having trouble getting along with colleagues, and sloppiness in your work. It all came crashing down when a fellow physician uncovered an egregious error on your part, and quickly remedied it. You have been exposed as an alcoholic and prescription drug addict. Now, the Texas Medical Board intervenes, and you face disciplinary action and the loss of your professional license.

In a perfect world, sick people would get the help they need, and no one would have to worry about the cost. The reality is, health care is a business. Like any business, a health care provider should expect reimbursement for providing their services.

There’s nothing wrong with pursuing what you’re entitled to through an insurance or Medicaid claim. However, a careless or inattentive approach could result in you facing charges of health care fraud.

Health care professionals have always been in high demand, but even more so during the current COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world. But even in times like these, some doctors and nurses face disciplinary actions that could lead to professional sanctions, including practice-related restrictions, suspensions and loss of their license.

As a physician, physician’s assistant, nurse or other health care professional, you worked diligently and with integrity to obtain and maintain your license, while helping patients recover from maladies that drastically affected their lives. But, now, you face a different kind of malady, fighting for your reputation and attempting to deflect any personal, financial and career consequences that come with it. When facing regulatory agencies, you must understand that the stakes are high.