Investigations by the State Medical Board

The State Medical Board of Ohio has broad authority to investigate complaints against practitioners.  (See Disciplinary Action by the State Medical Board.)  Their authority is most often exercised through the use of investigators who collect information from complainants, practitioners and others concerning the practice of medicine or its limited branches.  If an investigator from the State Medical Board calls or visits your office, you should review this information to be informed of the investigator’s role and authority.

The following information is not intended to be legal advice.  The information is practical information to help health care practitioners when a State Medical Board investigator calls.   The information is applicable to most situations.

A Medical Board investigator will normally schedule an appointment to see a practitioner prior to arriving at the office.  However, under circumstances where the investigator has not arranged for a specific appointment time, the investigator will usually wait in the waiting room for a reasonable period of time in order to speak with a practitioner.  Generally, the practitioner need not immediately see the investigator, but should arrange to see him or her at the earliest convenient moment.

A Medical Board investigator generally will first present a business card from the State Medical Board, which identifies him or her as an investigator.  The investigator should leave this card with the practitioner in order to identify himself or herself if later questions arise, or if the practitioner wishes to later contact the investigator.  In addition to their business cards, all investigators carry a State Medical Board Investigator’s Badge and a photo identification card.  These additional forms of identification should be requested if the practitioner is unfamiliar with the investigator.

A Medical Board investigator who is not serving a subpoena is not required to review patient records, and without a subpoena a practitioner is not required to make any records available to an investigator.  However, a proper Medical Board subpoena would allow the Board to receive any records that are subpoenaed and which are necessary to an investigation of possible violations of the medical practice act.

Any subpoena for patient record information may not be issued by the Secretary of the Board without the approval of the supervising member of the Board and a member of the Board who is licensed to practice medicine, osteopathic medicine or podiatric medicine, and after consultation with and approval by the Attorney General’s office.  Before issuance of such subpoena, the three Board members must determine whether there is probable cause to believe that the complaint filed alleges a violation of the medical practice act or a rule of the Board, and that the records sought are relevant to the alleged violation and material to the investigation.  The records subpoenaed must cover a reasonable period of time surrounding the alleged violation.

In most cases, the Medical Board investigator will drop off a subpoena at the practitioner’s office and arrange for a time to have those records picked up.  A practitioner must surrender the original record requested under the subpoena to the investigator, but may copy those records in order to retain the copies for his office use.  Upon request, the Medical Board will provide the licensee, within a reasonable time (normally one week), a copy of records received by the Board under a subpoena.

A subpoena may be challenged.  Practitioners are encouraged to speak to their legal counsel concerning opportunities and procedures to challenge a subpoena when necessary.

Generally, a subpoena requests records only and makes no requirement for the practitioner to discuss with the investigator at that time any of the information in the record.

In addition to subpoenas for records, the Board may also administer oaths, order the taking of depositions and compel the attendance of witnesses and production of books, accounts, papers, records, documents and testimony while investigating a violation of the Medical Practice Act.

If the Medical Board wishes to officially speak with the licensee concerning those records or other information, a deposition will be requested.  Under most circumstances, practitioners may discuss individual cases and circumstances with the investigator without breaching the confidentiality of the patient relationship.  Discussions with the Medical Board investigator can, and will, be used in some circumstances for disciplinary action against the licensee, where the investigation or discussions uncovered violations of the Medical Practice Act.

Practitioners, however, may often with to answer the investigator’s concerns on minor matters and resolve them in that first meeting with the investigator.   Practitioners are encouraged to carefully consider the answers they provide to investigators, and to contact knowledgeable legal counsel in questionable areas.   Practitioners have the ability to either contact their attorney or other knowledgeable counsel concerning their legal rights.   Practitioners who will not cooperate with investigators, however, will normally be requested to appear for a deposition concerning the investigation.

Normally, the practitioner’s staff is not approached by the investigator to answer questions concerning the care or treatment of that practitioner’s patients.  The staff may answer questions without breaching the confidentiality of the patient relationship in discussions with the Medical Board investigator.  While practitioners may instruct their staffs not to discuss matters with the investigators, practitioners may not impede or obstruct Medical Board investigations.

The Medical Board may ask that a practitioner attend an office conference with Members of the State Medical Board or with members of the staff.  The Medical Board office conferences are held under the Board’s basic investigative power.  They are an extension of its authority to investigate the actions of a practitioner.  According to the Board, the goal of an office conference is to resolve complaints that most likely will never result in formal action.  More than 90 percent of the complaints brought to an office conference are resolved at that time, with the exception of impairment problems, which would require further Board ratification.

A practitioner who is requested to attend an office conference has the right to be accompanied by an attorney. The office conference will normally be held before the Secretary of the Medical Board and/or the Supervising member.  Also present at that investigative conference will be the Executive Director of the State Medical Board or its Assistant Executive Director and a note taker.  The notes taken are considered an investigative report and are confidential.

The Medical Board is required to investigate all complaints of violations of the Medical Practice Act.  The Board will send a letter to the complainant when the investigation is closed, and to the practitioner involved if the practitioner had been contacted during that investigation.  ORC § 4731.22  (C)

Investigations by the State Medical Board