Mandatory Reporting of Criminal Convictions to the California Medical Board
Failure to disclose an arrest or conviction in a timely manner could cause a physician to lose their right to practice medicine. The California Medical Board views the non-disclosure of an arrest or conviction in ANY state, not just California a major breach of ethics and professional conduct.
California Business and Professions Code§ 802.1, says, a licensee must report the following:
1. The bringing of an indictment or information charging a felony against the licensee. OR
2. The conviction of the licensee, including any verdict of guilty, or plea of guilty or no contest, of any felony or misdemeanor.
The “bringing of an indictment or information” simply means the District Attorney’s Office has filed felony criminal charges against the physicians. This doesn’t require a plea of guilty, just the filing of the charges. For misdemeanors, physicians do not need to report the arrest, unless the physician goes on to plead guilty to a misdemeanor or felony.
Once either of these two scenarios occurs, a physician has 30 days to notify the board.
Criminal law is such that certain offense can be charged only as felonies and some only as misdemeanors. However, there are a number of crimes that can be charged either as felonies or misdemeanors. This means, any physician who has been arrested or investigated for a crime anywhere in California should contact a criminal defense attorney who also defends professional licenses.
Pilchman and Kay, PLC, located in Orange County, California invites you to contact our firm for a free consultation. We handle cases in all Southern California cities on the state and federal level including Medical Board of California cases.
