Tag: Licensure

Defending Yourself Before the IDFPR is a Gamble You Can’t Afford

Posted on by Louis Fine

If you find yourself on the receiving end of a complaint, the subject of an investigation, or facing a disciplinary proceeding before the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), don’t bother defending yourself.

That’s not to say your license, reputation, and career aren’t worth fighting for; quite the opposite, actually. But the policies and procedures that govern IDFPR investigations, hearings, and imposition of sanctions are unique and complicated, and often times unwritten and informal; even skilled and experienced attorneys who do not practice before IDFPR can find themselves at a loss when dealing with licensure issues. You may be the target of a completely meritless client/patient complaint; you may have all of the facts on your side and the documentation or witnesses to prove it. But all of your arguments and evidence may never see the light of day if you don’t know the proper way to present your case.

Your lack of knowledge of the process and how IDFPR prosecuting attorneys think and work also means you may miss out on opportunities to resolve your case sooner, cheaper, and with a more positive outcome. The ability to effectively reach a negotiated resolution with prosecutors depends on understanding the range of consequences, the risks involved in proceeding to a full hearing, and the likelihood of obtaining a successful result. Unless you have had extensive experience defending your professional license (which is hopefully not the case), you will be at an overwhelming disadvantage in negotiations with IDFPR prosecuting attorneys.

Even worse, the process can be manifestly unfair and stacked against you. Experienced and aggressive prosecutors have your license in their sights, and the hearing officer who will determine your fate is not necessarily independent and unbiased. IDFPR hearing officers are employed and paid by the IDFPR, just as the prosecuting attorneys are. Whether a hearing officer is consciously biased or not, the fact that their paychecks are coming from the very same folks who are seeking to discipline a respondent creates an implicit conflict of interest and calls into question the fairness of the entire process.

You are no doubt smart and know your profession well, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can or should handle an IDFPR investigation on your own.  Your reputation, career and livelihood are at stake.  Now is not the time to take a flyer and hope for the best.

Louis Fine: Chicago Professional License Defense Attorney

As a former Chief Prosecuting Attorney and administrative law judge for IDFPR, I have seen the serious consequences that an adverse enforcement decision can have on professionals who suddenly find their future in disarray. I understand how and why the Department decides to pursue investigations, how it handles negotiations, and how to approach formal proceedings in a way that gives my clients the best possible chance of a positive and expeditious outcome.

Please give me a call at (312) 236-2433 or fill out my online form to arrange for your free initial consultation. Together, we will get you back to your clients and your career.

The “F” in IDFPR Doesn’t Stand for “Fair”

Posted on by Louis Fine

You probably know that under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” While the Fifth Amendment only applies to the federal government, the Fourteenth Amendment provides identical protections from unfair deprivation of those things by a state.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is a body of the state of Illinois.

Your professional license is your property. In many respects, it is also your life and liberty. It is what allows you to fulfill your life’s work and provide for your family.

It certainly should be. But it most definitely isn’t in a number of key respects.

If you receive notice from the IDFPR that you are under investigation or that disciplinary proceedings have been commenced against you, don’t count on the IDFPR to be looking after your rights. Don’t think that you will be provided with the same due process protections that you would receive in a criminal prosecution or the broad rights to seek and obtain evidence that you would get in a civil lawsuit.

The IDFPR Can Limit Your Ability to Defend Yourself

The IDFPR’s procedural rules and practices put licensees at a sometimes crippling disadvantage in disciplinary proceedings. Perhaps the biggest example of this unfairness is the discovery process.

The process of investigating, obtaining evidence, and eliciting testimony relevant to a case – whether it be a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding like IDFPR disciplinary hearings – is known as “discovery.” It’s how the parties find out the facts, whether they help or hurt their respective cases. It is a fundamental aspect of fairness, and if a party is not permitted to fully develop the evidence necessary to support their case or challenge the evidence obtained by the other side, it is an inherently unfair process.

In formal IDFPR disciplinary proceedings, the licensee’s ability to pursue the discovery necessary to defend themselves is extremely limited. In fact, the extent of allowable discovery is determined by the very people who are prosecuting the case. Once the Department provides names of witnesses, including the name of any individual whose complaint may be at the heart of the proceedings, a respondent cannot take their depositions unless the Department’s attorney agrees. If the Department nixes a deposition request, that means the respondent will not be able to confront that witness, learn what his testimony will be, or attack the veracity of his testimony until the actual hearing. That is manifestly unjust and leaves a respondent and their attorney fighting with one arm tied behind their back.

Similarly, if there are witnesses that the licensee wishes to subpoena for testimony, those subpoenas have to be authorized and approved by the Department. Again, the very people seeking to deprive someone of their professional license can also deprive them of their ability to defend themselves.

Hearing Officers Are Not Independent

While it is the job of IDFPR’s prosecuting attorneys to enforce professional regulations and pursue disciplinary action against licensees, it is the hearing officer’s job to preside over those proceedings fairly and objectively without favoritism or bias. The problem is the hearing officers are not independent. They are employed and paid by the IDFPR, just as the prosecuting attorneys are. Whether a hearing officer is consciously biased or not, the fact that their paychecks are coming from the very same folks who are seeking to discipline a respondent creates an implicit conflict of interest and calls into question the fairness of the entire process.

With the deck so stacked against licensees, it is absolutely crucial that you retain an experienced IDFPR defense attorney to defend your rights, your license, and your livelihood if you find yourself in the Department’s sights.

Louis Fine: Chicago Professional License Defense Attorney

The moment you are contacted by IDFPR or learn that you are under investigation is the moment that you should contact me. I will immediately begin communicating with IDFPR prosecutors and work with you to develop the strategy best suited to achieving the goal of an efficient, cost-effective outcome that avoids any adverse action. Together, we will get you back to you clients and your career.

Please give me a call at (312) 236-2433 or fill out my online form to arrange for your free initial consultation. I look forward to meeting with you.

Doctors Without Borders: Illinois Becomes 11th State to Streamline Multi-State Physician Licensure

Posted on by Louis Fine

Illinois physicians seeking to practice in other states as well as out-of-state physicians looking to practice in Illinois will have an easier time doing so now that Illinois has joined 10 other states in enacting the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Act (the “Act”).

Simplified Licensure Process

Signed into law on July 20th by Gov. Bruce Rauner, the Act allows physicians who wish to practice in any of the states participating in the Compact to obtain multiple state licenses without going through the process of submitting a formal application or providing the same materials to each participating state medical board.

An “Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission,” which will be formed now that a sufficient number of states have joined the Compact, will collect applicable fees and transmit the physician’s information and licensure fees to the additional states in which the physician seeks to practice.  Those states would then make the licensure decision.

Promoting Telemedicine

The driving force behind the Compact is the increasing use of telehealth technology by doctors and other health care professionals who are generally prohibited from delivering health care services through telemedicine to patients in states in which they are not licensed. By streamlining the licensing process and decreasing redundancy, the Compact aims to remove barriers to the use of telehealth in patient care.

11 States and Counting

In addition to Illinois, the other states that are currently members of the Compact are:

  • Alabama
  • Idaho
  • Iowa
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • Nevada
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • West Virginia
  • Wyoming

The number of states participating in this arrangement is only expected to grow, as legislation is currently pending in Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Wisconsin and Vermont that would bring those states into the Compact’s fold.

Louis Fine: Your Chicago Physician and Health Care Licensure Attorney

As a former chief prosecuting attorney and administrative law judge for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), and with experience both prosecuting and defending doctors and other health care professionals before IDFPR, I understand how the Department handles licensure matters, why it decides to pursue investigations, how it approaches negotiations, and how to handle formal proceedings in a way that gives my clients the best possible chance of a positive outcome.

If you are a physician or health care profession and have questions or concerns about a licensure matter, please give me a call at (312) 236-2433 or fill out my online form to arrange for your free initial consultation. I look forward to meeting with you.