The Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC) requires that California osteopaths maintain professionalism and ethical standards. Your osteopathic license could become suspended because of allegations of misconduct or state violations against you.

License suspensions, revocations, and disciplinary actions do not only happen to negligent professionals. Even diligent osteopaths who maintain high ethical standards and professional expertise still face investigations because of misunderstandings, minor lapses in compliance, or unfounded complaints. A disciplinary order would impact your years of dedication, sacrifice, and achievement.

Engagement of an attorney during disciplinary proceedings, accusations, and decision appeals will go a long way. At Kern County License Attorney, we are dedicated to providing defense services for California osteopaths who face disciplinary actions or criminal charges alongside license denials. We will help you mitigate penalties, negotiate settlements, or even have charges dismissed.

How the Osteopathic Practitioners in Modern Healthcare Operates

Osteopathic practitioners, or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs), use a holistic approach that integrates mind-body-spirit unity in their medical practice. Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., established this philosophy through his principles, which consider the body an interconnected system with self-healing and self-regulating abilities.

As an osteopath, your medical education training allows you to practice in all medical areas, including primary care and specialized treatment. Your medical responsibility includes diagnosing and treating various healthcare issues while recognizing how different body systems affect each other. Osteopathic medicine is distinguished from other medical practices by its comprehensive patient treatment method.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a specific tool that enables you as a professional to identify medical problems by hand examination followed by manual treatment methods that prevent illnesses and injuries. You employ stretching methods with gentle pressure and resistance to enhance body motion, reduce pain, and support inherent bodily functions. The manual approach in healthcare works with standard medical treatments to deliver complete health solutions to patients.

As a primary care physician in your practice, you provide complete medical services to patients from different age groups. Your comprehensive training enables you to treat numerous health problems while focusing on your patient's health. Your patient-centered method helps you create strong bonds with your patients, improving the quality of your healthcare services.

The medical field of osteopathy continues to expand its influence throughout the United States. The nationwide medical workforce consists of 11% DO physicians, which shows the rising acceptance of osteopathic principles for health promotion.

The Osteopathic Medical Board’s Roles

The Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC) controls public health and professional integrity in California's healthcare system. All practicing osteopathic physicians understand that OMBC is the licensing and regulatory authority for osteopathic physicians and surgeons.

The board safeguards public safety by confirming medical practitioners maintain appropriate competency, professional accountability, and integrity standards in their medical practice.

The Osteopathic and Medical Practice Act authorizes the OMBC to investigate complaints and exercise disciplinary power. The board performs comprehensive examinations of all misconduct or substandard care complaints to protect patients' trust in the osteopathic profession.

The board issues licenses and establishes educational and clinical practice requirements through authority. The organization ensures that all histopathologists possess the required qualifications and maintain professional standards. When medical standards are not satisfied, the OMBC can also take disciplinary measures to protect public health and safety.

Common Allegations For Which Professional Discipline May Be Administered

Various allegations can lead to disciplinary action. These fall under categories such as:

  1. Criminal law violations
  2. Fraudulent activities, such as billing for services not rendered or falsifying patient records
  3. Breaches of professional codes. This includes behaviors that violate ethical or professional standards. For example, engaging in a personal relationship with a patient
  4. Gross negligence, which involves a deviation from the standard of care
  5. Repeated negligent acts
  6. Excessive use of drugs or alcohol. Drug addiction endangers patients and also undermines public confidence in the medical profession
  7. Prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose or without conducting a proper examination
  8. Inadequate or inaccurate record-keeping
  9. Aiding and abetting the unlicensed practice of medicine, for example, allowing an unlicensed individual to perform medical procedures and failing to comply with continuing medical education requirements

Possible Disciplinary Outcomes

  1. License Suspension

The OMBC can implement different disciplinary measures when misconduct investigations show violations occurred. The board aims to protect public safety and preserve professional integrity. License suspension is one possible outcome. The temporary suspension of your osteopathic practice bars you from working for a designated period until you meet specific requirements, such as completing training or rehabilitation programs.

  1. License Revocation

The OMBC can cancel your license permanently when your conduct reaches severe levels. A permanent license revocation removes your professional right to practice osteopathic medicine throughout California. Licenses are revoked by the OMBC only for the most severe violations, which include patient endangerment, criminal conduct, and extreme ethical misconduct.

  1. Probationary Terms

The OMBC takes disciplinary measures beyond suspension or revocation. The OMBC has the authority to enforce probationary measures, substance abuse programs, victim restitution, and impose fines. Disciplinary actions receive individual assessments for each case based on the circumstances surrounding your misconduct and its severity level.

Criminal Charges and Convictions

The state has set laws determining what crimes can lead to disciplinary measures against licensed professionals.

The Business and Professions Code Section 49 BPC punishes licensees who commit crimes that link to their professional qualifications and duties. A conviction of such crimes enables the OMBC to exercise disciplinary powers against your medical license.

The board can consider any offense substantially related to physician and surgeon qualifications or duties as grounds for unprofessional conduct according to BPC Section 2236(a). Unprofessional conduct established by this designation enables the OMBC to take disciplinary actions.

The OMBC considers convictions for any state or federal dangerous drug regulation or controlled substance statute to be unprofessional conduct under BPC Section 2237. The prescription distribution and usage of controlled substances form part of the violations that medical practitioners need to be aware of.

The OMBC can take disciplinary action against practitioners whose convictions include DUI offenses, fraud cases, and crimes involving moral turpitude. Your osteopathic medical license is at risk of getting suspended or revoked because these offenses directly link to the practice of osteopathic medicine.

Administrative Hearing

After OMBC files a formal accusation against you, the board will give you 15 days to submit a Notice of Defense. The document demonstrates your willingness to dispute the allegations while requesting a hearing. The response deadline is 15 days because no response leads to automatic default decisions.

After you submit your Notice of Defense, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) will schedule the hearing. Under Title 1, Section 1120 of the California Code of Regulations, the OAH schedules hearings to start within 30 days of petition receipt unless it obtains permission to extend for valid reasons.

The discovery phase involves the parties exchanging evidence and witness lists. According to common practice, the process begins shortly after hearing scheduling occurs to give parties enough preparation time, although statutes do not specify exact timelines.

An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) holds the administrative hearing to determine the case. The Administrative Procedure Act governs the proceedings outlined in Government Code Section 11500 et seq. The hearing duration depends on the case's complexity, but administrators should avoid delaying the process.

According to Title 1, Section 1140 of the California Code of Regulations, the ALJ has 30 days to draft a proposed decision.

After receiving the ALJ's proposed decision, the OMBC has 100 days to respond. The OMBC can approve, change, or deny the ALJ's proposal. If the OMBC does not take action within the specified time limit, the proposed decision automatically becomes the final board decision.

After the board decides, you can file a petition for reconsideration. Petitioners must submit their request to the Board within the designated period starting from the decision date, which typically extends up to 30 days.

After the petition for reconsideration fails, you have the right to file a writ of administrative mandate at the Superior Court. The right to file this action becomes available when the reconsideration request gets denied and must begin within 30 days.

Petition for Reinstatement of License

You cannot have your medical license reinstated through simple requests after its revocation. The OMBC needs to see evidence that you can resume medical practice. Restoring medical authority through this process demands proof of rehabilitation, while you must follow all probation conditions with an unwavering commitment to ethical conduct.

Waiting Period and Eligibility Requirements

The waiting period to file a petition starts from your license revocation date and lasts three years, according to California Business and Professions Code Section 2307. In unique circumstances, the board can authorize a reduced waiting period of just two years. You can submit a reinstatement request for your license one year after revocation occurs when the revocation happened because of mental or physical illness.

Preparing Your Petition for Reinstatement

A formal legal document requires precise preparation when creating a petition. A detailed statement should include your rehabilitation progress and commitment to follow past disciplinary requirements and demonstrate your commitment to avoid repeating previous misconduct. 

The fitness of your return to practice will be demonstrated through character references, proof of continuing education, therapy records, and employment records.

Rehabilitation and Burden of Proof

Your objective must demonstrate to the board how you rehabilitated yourself and show your capability to maintain public safety following your license reinstatement. Your petition needs to satisfy the board's evaluation process. Reviewing your professional standards plan, the board evaluates your remorse and comprehension of past conduct. Success and exclusion from practice depend heavily on having a well-structured petition, which legal representation helps develop.

The Administrative Hearing Process

After petition filing, the board or an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will schedule an administrative hearing. When relevant, the hearing operates as a trial through testimony, documentary evidence, and expert witness testimony. A Deputy Attorney General from the state will present opposing arguments to your petition by claiming reinstatement should not be granted. After the hearing, the ALJ creates a proposed decision that the Board evaluates to reach its final decision.

Board Decision and Potential Outcomes

The OMBC can decide whether your license will be reinstated. You must wait one year to file a new petition after receiving a denial from the board. The Board will determine your petition with the option to enforce probationary terms, including supervised practice, together with continuing education requirements and drug and alcohol testing protocols in case of substance abuse.

Having Your License Application Approved

The OMBC-managed licensing system becomes essential knowledge for osteopathic physicians who want to practice in California. This process involves multiple complicated procedures, detailed precision, and particular requirements.

The OMBC application system requires all applicants to present necessary documentation to the review panel. Your application to the OMBC requires official medical transcripts, postgraduate training verification, and documentation of examination success. All license candidates must pass a criminal background check by submitting their fingerprints through Live Scan to the California government. The OMBC website provides the most updated application forms, which you must use to prevent processing delays.

The application process delays or stops for applicants who fail to provide current, truthful information. Delays occur because of outdated application forms and missing essential documentation. The review process will extend to all aspects of your submission. Discipline problems, such as criminal records or allegations of unprofessional conduct, can lead to denial.

Achieving approval requires submitting every document needed promptly and thoroughly completing each application section. Complete transparency remains essential since you must reveal all past professional and legal challenges and supporting documentation demonstrating your rehabilitation efforts or corrective measures. The OMBC application process becomes smoother when candidates maintain open dialogue and ask for help whenever needed.

The OMBC requires candidates to demonstrate professional conduct in their application process. Professional misconduct at any point during medical training or previous work experience will create negative impacts on your medical college admission. Candidates seeking admission must prove their ethical dedication through documented good moral character to secure a successful application.

Find an Osteopathic License Defense Attorney Near Me

Protecting your osteopathic license defends your professional career when you face misconduct, criminal actions, or regulatory violations. It preserves your professional standing, financial security, and accumulated diligence. Defending your osteopathic license requires experienced legal representation to address California medical licensing regulations requirements.

At Kern County License Attorney, we offer an aggressive defense that could result in a positive outcome for your case. We also provide unwavering support to osteopaths seeking to defend their rights. Call us at 805-702-8560 for a confidential consultation, and we will provide legal counsel.