Medical License Defense
Representation Before the State Board of Medicine
The State Board of Medicine licenses medical doctors and a wide range of other practitioners, including physician assistants, nurse-midwives and certified midwives, respiratory therapists, acupuncturists, athletic trainers, perfusionists, genetic counselors and behavior specialists. The Board enforces the Medical Practice Act and its regulations, and it acts on reports received under the MCARE Act.
A Board matter may begin with a patient complaint, a malpractice payment, a hospital's action on privileges, a pharmacy or prescription monitoring referral, an arrest or an allegation of impairment. Because physicians must self-report certain events and hospitals must report certain actions, many matters reach the Board through mandatory reports rather than complaints.
Mimm Law, LLC represents medical doctors and other Board of Medicine licensees at every stage, from the initial inquiry through final order and appeal, including matters involving the Professional Health Monitoring Program and temporary suspension.
Governing Law
- Board
- State Board of Medicine
- Statute
- Medical Practice Act of 1985, 63 P.S. §§ 422.1-422.53
- Regulations
- 49 Pa. Code Chapters 16 to 18
- Licensees
- Medical doctors (MDs) and other practitioners
- Renewal
- Biennial; licenses expire December 31 of even-numbered years
Who the Board Regulates
- Medical doctor (MD) license
- Physician assistant license
- Nurse-midwife license and certified midwife license
- Respiratory therapist license
- Acupuncturist and practitioner of Oriental medicine
- Athletic trainer, perfusionist, genetic counselor and behavior specialist licenses
- Prosthetist, orthotist, pedorthist and orthotic fitter licenses
Grounds for Discipline
Section 41 of the Medical Practice Act (63 P.S. § 422.41) authorizes the Board to discipline a licensee for, among other things:
- Failure to demonstrate the qualifications or standards for licensure
- Fraud or deception in obtaining a license or in the practice of medicine
- Conviction of a felony, or of a misdemeanor related to a health profession, including probation without verdict and similar dispositions
- Discipline by another jurisdiction
- Inability to practice with reasonable skill and safety because of illness, addiction or mental incompetence
- Violation of a Board regulation or order
- Aiding the unlawful practice of medicine, or associating with unlicensed practitioners
- Immoral or unprofessional conduct, including departures from accepted standards of practice, without the need to prove injury to a patient
- Conduct presenting an immediate and clear danger to public health or safety
- Practicing beyond the scope of the license, or a false or deceptive biennial registration
Sanctions the Board May Impose
The Board may deny a license, issue a public reprimand, revoke, suspend, limit or restrict a license, require care, counseling or treatment, require refresher education, impose probation or impose a monetary penalty. Where a licensee presents an immediate and clear danger, the Board may order a temporary suspension, and a license is automatically suspended upon a felony conviction under the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act. A revoked licensee may apply for reinstatement only after at least five years (ten years from the date of conviction where the license was suspended or revoked for a Controlled Substance Act felony) and must then meet all licensing qualifications, including the examination. The Medical Practice Act also allows a civil penalty of up to $1,000, but the Board may not impose a penalty under both that Act and Chapter 31 of Title 63 for the same violation.
In addition to the sanctions in the Board's own statute, Chapter 31 of Title 63 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes authorizes each licensing board to impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation and to assess the costs of investigation against a licensee found to have violated the law.
Obligations That Often Lead to Board Matters
MCARE Reporting
A physician must report to the Board within 60 days the service of a medical professional liability complaint, discipline in another jurisdiction, arrests for specified offenses and certain convictions. A failure to report is a separate ground for discipline.
Prescribing
Controlled substance prescribing is closely scrutinized, and prescribing data, pharmacy referrals and patient records are frequently the foundation of a Board matter. Documentation of the medical basis for each prescription is essential.
Continuing Medical Education
Medical doctors must complete 100 hours of continuing medical education each biennial period, including at least 12 hours in patient safety and risk management, 2 hours in child abuse recognition, 2 hours in pain management or opioid prescribing for DEA registrants, and, effective May 1, 2026, at least 2 of the required hours in the organ and tissue donation and recovery process, a one-time requirement to be completed within 5 years of initial licensure or of licensure renewal or reactivation.
Matters We Handle
- Patient complaints concerning care, communication or conduct
- Prescribing practices and controlled substances
- Reported malpractice payments and hospital privilege actions
- Referrals to the Professional Health Monitoring Program
- Reciprocal discipline based on action in another jurisdiction
- Criminal charges and convictions affecting licensure
- Missed 60-day self-reports under the MCARE Act
- Sexual misconduct allegations
How We Can Help
Board Investigations
Upon receipt of a letter of inquiry, a subpoena or contact from an investigator, the firm evaluates the allegations, reviews the licensee's records, prepares a written response and attends any investigative interview. In some matters, an early, well-documented response may resolve the matter before formal charges are filed.
Formal Charges and Hearings
When the Commonwealth files an Order to Show Cause, the time to respond is short, and a respondent who misses the deadline may be held in default and the facts alleged deemed admitted. The firm prepares and files the answer, negotiates a consent agreement where one serves the client's interests, and tries the matter before the hearing examiner or the Board where it does not.
Applications and Reinstatement
For applicants whose history may raise questions, and for licensees seeking reinstatement after suspension, revocation or lapse, the firm assembles the application and supporting record and presents the matter to the Board.
Questions Licensees Ask
I was served with a malpractice complaint. Must I tell the Board?
Yes. Under the MCARE Act, a physician must notify the Board within 60 days after service of a complaint in a medical professional liability action. The report does not by itself result in discipline, but a failure to make it may.
My hospital restricted my privileges. Will the Board investigate?
It may. Hospitals are required to report certain privilege actions, and those reports frequently lead to a Board inquiry. The hospital proceeding and the licensing matter should be managed together, because findings and statements in one may be used in the other.
What is the Voluntary Recovery Program?
It is the confidential track of the Professional Health Monitoring Program for qualifying licensees whose practice may be affected by a substance use disorder or other condition. A licensee who enrolls and complies with a monitoring agreement, ordinarily for at least three years, may avoid public discipline. Licensees with certain drug convictions or patient-harm allegations are not eligible.
Should I speak with an investigator before I have counsel?
A licensee who receives a letter of inquiry, a subpoena or a telephone call from an investigator with the Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation should be courteous and should note the investigator's name and contact information, but should not give a substantive statement before obtaining advice. Anything said to an investigator may be included in the report reviewed by the prosecuting attorney and, later, by the Board. Counsel can determine what is being alleged, gather the relevant records and prepare a response that is accurate, complete and appropriately limited.
Must I report a criminal conviction, plea or ARD, or discipline in another state?
Yes. Pennsylvania law requires every licensee to notify the licensing board in writing within 30 days of discipline imposed by a licensing authority in another jurisdiction and of a finding of guilt, guilty plea, plea of nolo contendere, probation without verdict, disposition in lieu of trial or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition on a felony or misdemeanor charge. Some boards' regulations impose additional or earlier reporting duties, including, for nurses and massage therapists, a duty to report the filing of criminal charges within 30 days. A failure to report is itself a ground for discipline, and it is frequently charged alongside the underlying conduct.
Meet Your Attorney
Steven A. Mimm, Esq.
Founder, Mimm Law, LLC. Admitted in Pennsylvania (2008) and New Jersey (2022).
From 2014 to 2022, Attorney Steven A. Mimm served as a prosecuting attorney bringing disciplinary actions on behalf of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs before Pennsylvania's licensing boards. That experience informs how the firm evaluates evidence, negotiates with the Commonwealth and prepares cases for hearing. Where a licensee also faces criminal charges, the firm handles the licensing matter and coordinates with the licensee's criminal defense counsel.
Related: All Licensing Boards · Licensing and FAQs
Last reviewed September 2026. The information on this page is general in nature and is not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.