As a Minnesota nurse license lawyer, my clients often ask me why they are being investigated by their licensing board. Many people don't realize that Minnesota licensing boards are complaint-driven. In other words, your licensing board does not go out looking for improper behavior on its own. Rather, your board relies on others to alert it to improper practice or behavior.
Common Complaints
There are numerous reasons why a complaint may be filed with a licensing board. Some common issues include:
Diversion of prescription narcotic medications from the workplace
Failure to follow wasting procedures for narcotic medications
Over-use/multiple prescriptions for a prescribed narcotic medication
Mental health issues that affect work performance
Physical health issues that affect work performance
Conviction of a criminal offense such as assault, drunk-driving or fraud
Neglect of clients or patients
Departing from minimal standards of acceptable prevailing medical practice
Failure to meet patient record documentation standards
Failure to fully assess a patient or client's needs
Fraudulent billing
Revealing privileged communications / HIPAA violations
False advertising
Violating professional boundaries with a patient or client, including sexual conduct
Failure to pay student loans secured by the state or federal government
Being fired from a job for cause
Being dismissed from the Health Professionals Services Program (HPSP) for failure to comply with a participation agreement
Practicing beyond licensed scope of practice
At Lord + Heinlein our 30 + years of combined experience defending medical and professional licenses gives us the wisdom to get you a positive outcome with your licensing board. We know how stressful being presented with allegations of wrongdoing can be and we know how important your livelihood is to you. We work tirelessly for you to preserve your license that you worked so hard to achieve. We are your powerful legal voice.
