In California, the Medical Board is inundated with more than 8,000 complaints per year. These complaints are submitted by patients, other medical professionals, insurance companies and family members of patients. There is an Enforcement Program in place that utilizes the Central Complaint Unit (CCU) when complaints are filed.
Staff members with the CCU review every single complaint sent to the Medical Board of California to determine if any laws were broken. The staff then determines if that complaint even comes under the scope of the Medical Board and its jurisdiction. Once a complaint is marked for further review, the CCU staff will begin seeking evidence to support or deny the claim.
The staff will ask to see the medical records for the patient as well as a statement about treatment from the medical profession at the center of the complaint. The professional in question will be provided with a summary of the complaint in order to provide an effective and appropriate response to the Medical Board.
When all of the required information, or evidence, is received by the CCU, the complaint will be sent to an expert. The expert will perform a thorough review of all the information provided. If the expert does not find anything that substantiates the complaint, the complaint will be closed and it will be kept on file for just one year. If a simple issue is found, the case will be closed and kept on file for five years.
If an issue is found that is bigger than simple, the complaint will be forwarded to a district office for the Medical Board for a deeper investigation.
Are you in danger of having your license suspended, or worse yet, revoked? An experienced professional license defense attorney in Sacramento will be able to analyze your case and provide you with advice on the legal action to take.
Source: The Medical Board of California, “Complaint Review Process,” accessed Sep. 20, 2017
