The Life of Christie 212
Subtitle
Blog
DEA Defense Lawyers and Attorneys
|
|
comments (0)
|
DEA registration protection is a highly intricate field of law fraught with pitfalls for the inexperienced lawyer. Bad advice can cost you a own practice, liberty, financial resources, and your enrollment. It is important to choose counsel tremendously experienced in DEA registration defense. If you are a healthcare provider and you dispense or prescribe controlled substances you need to obey the strict Federal and State requirements that govern the prescribing and dispensing of such substances. Failure to obey these rules can cause an investigation or audit that will not only carry monetary fines but undermine the health care providers' DEA enrollment and state license.
Why Am I Being Targeted?
According to the DEA, it frequently audits pharmacies and physician practices for compliance with all the regulated substances act. When it finds non-compliance together with the controlled substance act, it takes action by means of a method of judicial actions including criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action seeking revocation or denial of a registration, or some combo of those three. While this is accurate, it's a bit of an understatement such action is the consequence of random inspections. Generally, investigations and audits are targeted and it is incumbent upon a physician or pharmacist to treat an experience with the DEA as more than just mere opportunity but a well-planned out encounter done for investigative purposes.
If you are being audited by the DEA you should assume that the DEA already has a suspicion that you have violated a minumum of one aspect of the controlled substances act. If you're facing action by the DEA it is likely because you had been the target of a DEA investigation. If DEA diversion investigators are in your clinic or pharmacy performing an audit, they already at least have some knowledge about you and your clinic. Generally, the DEA gathers information about a physician or pharmacist before conducting an audit by reviewing prescription drug tracking system software. The DEA looks for signs in the information that could indicate the need for a DEA Audit. When those signs are found, they will attempt to do an administrative inspection.
You may also be a goal because your patients display"red flags."
Can the DEA Agent or Diversion Investigator"Revoke" My Registration?
The answer to this question is no. The DEA may tell you they have the capability to revoke your registration or that if you do not signal a DEA 104 (voluntary surrender) they have the ability to reverse, and this is untrue. DEA agents and diversion investigators don't have the power to revoke a registration. Only the DEA administrator has the capability to revoke your enrollment and the secretary can only do so when he complies with the demands of due process.
To initiate the process, the DEA will document an"order to show cause" against your registration. Before this happens, your lawyer should have engaged in extensive correspondence/negotiation with the DEA to attempt to demonstrate compliance or resolve the allegations (see below). If dea inveistgation attorneys request a hearing you will have the opportunity to"show cause" in front of a DEA administrative law judge your registration shouldn't be revoked. You need to retain counsel to submit the response and defend you in the hearing. This hearing can happen in Arlington Virginia or close to your pharmacy/practice depending upon the judge's judgment.
What Can I Do If I'm Under Analysis, Audited, or Stress An investigation or Audit?
If You're confronting a DEA investigation or believe the DEA has initiated criminal, civil, or administrative action against youpersonally, there are a Couple of simple Actions you can take now to greatly improve your Odds of a successful outcome:
You must get an attorney educated with all the nuance of all DEA law. DEA regulations are complex and violation of a single regulation (based on the severity) can cost tens of thousands in civil penalties, lead to permit revocation, and lead to a criminal investigation. Terrible information can cost you your practice. Make sure that you choose an experienced firm that has practiced in this stadium regularly. Our attorneys have represented hundreds of physicians, physicians, and other prescribers across the country in DEA proceeding and throughout DEA investigations.
Only Deal With The DEA During Counsel. Many pharmacists, physicians or other prescribers believe that obtaining an lawyer to deal with the DEA will make them seem guilty. This is not the situation, every large and midsize drugstore, distributor or physician practice team speaks to the DEA only by using their DEA attorney or compliance personnel. This is common among businesses that appreciate the fact that only a knowledgeable DEA attorney is equipped to comprehend the legal and regulatory framework satisfactorily to correspond with the DEA. Additionally, whenever a pharmacist or doctor speaks with the DEA, this information is filed in a report and can be used later in court proceeding. It is vital that every statement made into the DEA is submitted through counsel to avoid costly mistakes. The DEA also enjoys correspondence through counsel since, if you retain a DEA attorney that's knowledgeable about DEA matters, rapport is readily established between diversion investigators, representatives, DEA lawyers which can streamline the procedure for responding to requests. If the DEA asks you to sign a voluntary surrender (DEA Form 104) it is imperative that you seek the advice of counsel prior to doing this. There aren't any circumstances where this can be beneficial for the physician or pharmacy and re-obtaining your registration may take years and tens of thousands of dollars.
Assess Your Practice. Because the pharmaceutical industry is a heavily regulated field, it's almost always best to self-assess and determine how we can convince the DEA that 1) we did not violate regulations, and 2) we won't violate regulations later on. This is the main concern of the DEA. Whether it's a pharmacy or doctor's clinic we typically run a DEA compliance review originally to ascertain the extent of any possible problems. If your documentation is inadequate, we help you fix it. If studies of dispensing records reveal inaccurate data, we can help you find the main cause of this outcome. As a full-service healthcare law firm, we will concentrate on repairing any systemic issues while simultaneously aggressively defending any false allegations against your practice or pharmacy.
Preventing Unwanted DEA Scrutiny. Let's be fair, we live in a world in which investigations are driven by information. DEA investigators review data before inspecting your practice or pharmacy. The DEA makes decisions about what a to goal based on the number of regulated substances dispensed. Pharmacy wholesalers make conclusions about which clients to cut-off according to pharmacies and data make decisions on which physicians' prescriptions they will not fill based on information. Therefore, its imperative that you
When you have assessed your pharmacy or clinic you'll have to implement procedures and policies to make certain you and your employees maintain compliance and continue to improve. When the DEA does require administrative, the corrective action program can be submitted as proof to demonstrate that you need to keep your DEA registration. If you're facing a criminal investigation or have been the subject of a DEA administrative review or search warrant, you might be concerned that submitting a corrective action plan is an admission of wrongdoing. This isn't true, your lawyer can submit it in such a way that it cannot be utilized as evidence against you at a subsequent proceeding. Therefore with a lawyer knowledgeable about DEA matters is critically important.
Aggressively Defend Improper Allegations. As soon as you have taken every step to guarantee compliance, it is vital to aggressively defend any allegations against you or your pharmacy/practice of criminal conduct. Whether the allegations are civil, criminal, or administrative in nature, you need to develop an investigation plan which produces strong evidence to present at trial or the DEA hearing. If the case involves prescribing of controlled substances, your counsel will want to interview patients, obtain medical records, obtain specialists, and produce data to show that you prescribed"for a valid medical purpose" and"in the regular course of professional practice". If the situation involves dispensing, you will have to review dispensing data that you have resolved and documented any possible"DEA red flags" associated with all the prescriptions filled. This process is not straightforward and requires review of thousands of pages of data (based on how big the pharmacy or clinic ). If your behavior is supported from the data and by an expert, you shouldn't be worried about aggressively defending your actions so as to obtain a dismissal or positive conclusion during a DEA trial or hearing.
Why Am I Being Targeted?
According to the DEA, it frequently audits pharmacies and physician practices for compliance with all the regulated substances act. When it finds non-compliance together with the controlled substance act, it takes action by means of a method of judicial actions including criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action seeking revocation or denial of a registration, or some combo of those three. While this is accurate, it's a bit of an understatement such action is the consequence of random inspections. Generally, investigations and audits are targeted and it is incumbent upon a physician or pharmacist to treat an experience with the DEA as more than just mere opportunity but a well-planned out encounter done for investigative purposes.
If you are being audited by the DEA you should assume that the DEA already has a suspicion that you have violated a minumum of one aspect of the controlled substances act. If you're facing action by the DEA it is likely because you had been the target of a DEA investigation. If DEA diversion investigators are in your clinic or pharmacy performing an audit, they already at least have some knowledge about you and your clinic. Generally, the DEA gathers information about a physician or pharmacist before conducting an audit by reviewing prescription drug tracking system software. The DEA looks for signs in the information that could indicate the need for a DEA Audit. When those signs are found, they will attempt to do an administrative inspection.
You may also be a goal because your patients display"red flags."
Can the DEA Agent or Diversion Investigator"Revoke" My Registration?
The answer to this question is no. The DEA may tell you they have the capability to revoke your registration or that if you do not signal a DEA 104 (voluntary surrender) they have the ability to reverse, and this is untrue. DEA agents and diversion investigators don't have the power to revoke a registration. Only the DEA administrator has the capability to revoke your enrollment and the secretary can only do so when he complies with the demands of due process.
To initiate the process, the DEA will document an"order to show cause" against your registration. Before this happens, your lawyer should have engaged in extensive correspondence/negotiation with the DEA to attempt to demonstrate compliance or resolve the allegations (see below). If dea inveistgation attorneys request a hearing you will have the opportunity to"show cause" in front of a DEA administrative law judge your registration shouldn't be revoked. You need to retain counsel to submit the response and defend you in the hearing. This hearing can happen in Arlington Virginia or close to your pharmacy/practice depending upon the judge's judgment.
What Can I Do If I'm Under Analysis, Audited, or Stress An investigation or Audit?
If You're confronting a DEA investigation or believe the DEA has initiated criminal, civil, or administrative action against youpersonally, there are a Couple of simple Actions you can take now to greatly improve your Odds of a successful outcome:
You must get an attorney educated with all the nuance of all DEA law. DEA regulations are complex and violation of a single regulation (based on the severity) can cost tens of thousands in civil penalties, lead to permit revocation, and lead to a criminal investigation. Terrible information can cost you your practice. Make sure that you choose an experienced firm that has practiced in this stadium regularly. Our attorneys have represented hundreds of physicians, physicians, and other prescribers across the country in DEA proceeding and throughout DEA investigations.
Only Deal With The DEA During Counsel. Many pharmacists, physicians or other prescribers believe that obtaining an lawyer to deal with the DEA will make them seem guilty. This is not the situation, every large and midsize drugstore, distributor or physician practice team speaks to the DEA only by using their DEA attorney or compliance personnel. This is common among businesses that appreciate the fact that only a knowledgeable DEA attorney is equipped to comprehend the legal and regulatory framework satisfactorily to correspond with the DEA. Additionally, whenever a pharmacist or doctor speaks with the DEA, this information is filed in a report and can be used later in court proceeding. It is vital that every statement made into the DEA is submitted through counsel to avoid costly mistakes. The DEA also enjoys correspondence through counsel since, if you retain a DEA attorney that's knowledgeable about DEA matters, rapport is readily established between diversion investigators, representatives, DEA lawyers which can streamline the procedure for responding to requests. If the DEA asks you to sign a voluntary surrender (DEA Form 104) it is imperative that you seek the advice of counsel prior to doing this. There aren't any circumstances where this can be beneficial for the physician or pharmacy and re-obtaining your registration may take years and tens of thousands of dollars.
Assess Your Practice. Because the pharmaceutical industry is a heavily regulated field, it's almost always best to self-assess and determine how we can convince the DEA that 1) we did not violate regulations, and 2) we won't violate regulations later on. This is the main concern of the DEA. Whether it's a pharmacy or doctor's clinic we typically run a DEA compliance review originally to ascertain the extent of any possible problems. If your documentation is inadequate, we help you fix it. If studies of dispensing records reveal inaccurate data, we can help you find the main cause of this outcome. As a full-service healthcare law firm, we will concentrate on repairing any systemic issues while simultaneously aggressively defending any false allegations against your practice or pharmacy.
Preventing Unwanted DEA Scrutiny. Let's be fair, we live in a world in which investigations are driven by information. DEA investigators review data before inspecting your practice or pharmacy. The DEA makes decisions about what a to goal based on the number of regulated substances dispensed. Pharmacy wholesalers make conclusions about which clients to cut-off according to pharmacies and data make decisions on which physicians' prescriptions they will not fill based on information. Therefore, its imperative that you
When you have assessed your pharmacy or clinic you'll have to implement procedures and policies to make certain you and your employees maintain compliance and continue to improve. When the DEA does require administrative, the corrective action program can be submitted as proof to demonstrate that you need to keep your DEA registration. If you're facing a criminal investigation or have been the subject of a DEA administrative review or search warrant, you might be concerned that submitting a corrective action plan is an admission of wrongdoing. This isn't true, your lawyer can submit it in such a way that it cannot be utilized as evidence against you at a subsequent proceeding. Therefore with a lawyer knowledgeable about DEA matters is critically important.
Aggressively Defend Improper Allegations. As soon as you have taken every step to guarantee compliance, it is vital to aggressively defend any allegations against you or your pharmacy/practice of criminal conduct. Whether the allegations are civil, criminal, or administrative in nature, you need to develop an investigation plan which produces strong evidence to present at trial or the DEA hearing. If the case involves prescribing of controlled substances, your counsel will want to interview patients, obtain medical records, obtain specialists, and produce data to show that you prescribed"for a valid medical purpose" and"in the regular course of professional practice". If the situation involves dispensing, you will have to review dispensing data that you have resolved and documented any possible"DEA red flags" associated with all the prescriptions filled. This process is not straightforward and requires review of thousands of pages of data (based on how big the pharmacy or clinic ). If your behavior is supported from the data and by an expert, you shouldn't be worried about aggressively defending your actions so as to obtain a dismissal or positive conclusion during a DEA trial or hearing.
