All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians licensed to work in Columbia, South Carolina must abide by the rules and regulations of the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy. Unfortunately, there are occasions when the Board of Pharmacy receives a complaint against you and your ability to work as a pharmacist, or a pharmacy technician. If this happens, your pharmacy license may be in jeopardy. The fact is that the profession of pharmacy requires constant attention to detail. There are often situations where the pharmacist has to work under pressure. There is thus a risk of making errors, and these errors can sometimes result in negative consequences. If you are a licensed pharmacist in Columbia, South Carolina and if a complaint has been filed against you, you need to speak to a pharmacist license defense lawyer as soon as possible.
The South Carolina Board of Pharmacy will send you a letter notifying you of this fact. If you receive such a letter, you should not take it lightly as your entire career may be on the line. You have put in years of hard work and effort to get your license and to get the reputation that you hold today. You cannot possibly let it go so easily without fighting back. We recommended you speak to a pharmacist license defense attorney. This is to ensure the complaint process is handled efficiently and professionally. Most important is that your license is not suspended or revoked unnecessarily.
The South Carolina Board of Pharmacy may receive a complaint against you from the following:
– Your colleagues at work
– Your manager
– A Law enforcement officer
– A patient
– A medical doctor
– Another pharmacist
– A member of the general public
The South Carolina Board of Pharmacy will review the complaint against a pharmacist. If they feel that the complaint may have some merit, they will initiate the process to investigate it further. It is the Board’s responsibility to ensure public safety and to ensure that every patient who receives their prescribed medication from a pharmacist gets the required duty of care. If a pharmacist fails to deliver or fails to meet the standards that are set by the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy, the Board takes the complaint seriously.
If the Board decides to proceed with the complaint, they will send you a letter notifying you of the complaint. While the Board will provide you with the key details of the complaint, the details of their investigation are not revealed to you. If you are a practicing pharmacist in Columbia, South Carolina and you have received such a notification, you need to speak to a pharmacist license defense attorney as soon as possible. Depending on the type of complaint, you may be at risk for temporary or permanent loss of your license.
The moment you get a letter from the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy notifying you that an investigation is underway, it is vital that you speak with a pharmacist license defense lawyer to discuss your rights and options. Ignoring a complaint increases the chance of a license suspension. You are free to tackle the Pharmacy board on your own, but it is not something we would recommend. First, most pharmacists have no idea what and how the Board purses complaints and secondly the Board has lawyers as part of the team. Hence, anything you say or do can cause you a problem, even if you think you are completely innocent. You should still use the services of a pharmacist license defense lawyer to communicate your story. The Board has a procedure you need to follow to ensure you don’t lose your license.
A pharmacist may receive a complaint for several reasons. These include:
All the above are serious charges, and the Board must do something about it. In most cases, the Board will have already started an investigation. They may have contacted the responsible people, witnesses and even obtained any police records. Therefore, when you get a complaint letter, the investigation has most likely moved along a lot further than you think. You need to act fast, and you need to speak to a pharmacist license defense lawyer immediately.
The moment you get the complaint letter, you should refrain from contacting the board or speaking to anyone. You don’t want to write or say something which may come back later against you. Since you have no idea how far along the Board has investigated you, you are at a real disadvantage. That is why you need to speak to a pharmacist license defense lawyer before you do anything else. The pharmacist license defense attorney can conduct all the communications on your behalf. The Board will be more inclined to tell your pharmacist license defense attorney what the real situation is and how serious the matter has become.
The type of penalty you face will depend on the offense. In some minor cases, you may face a monetary penalty or a public reprimand. Sometimes you may need to be on probation for a few months. For example, if you were involved in drunk driving and this was your first offense, the Board will recommend that you enroll in an alcohol and drug rehab program and take some time off work. The Board could temporarily suspend your license. However, if you have been involved in child pornography, then this is automatically a federal matter, and the charges are a lot more serious. In many other instances, a pharmacy license defense lawyer can help downgrade the charges, vouch for your character and help you obtain only a temporary suspension instead of a permanent revocation of your license.
Fighting for your license means you need the services of a pharmacist license defense lawyer. At Kendrick & Leonard, we have a team of lawyers who are here to help you. Our pharmacist license defense attorney will help you fight the Board. Keep in mind that once you become aware of a complaint, you need to act fast as there is usually a time limit on such cases. Our pharmacist license defense lawyer will have to gather a lot of information from you, and all the other parties involved. Call us today, and we can help you determine your rights and your options.
