1999 serious action rate: 4.92/1000 doctors
1999 ranking: 12th

In Arkansas, there were disciplinary actions reported against 93 doctors including 11 who were disciplined for substance abuse, 4 for misprescribing or overprescribing drugs, 1 for sexual abuse of or sexual misconduct with a patient, 1 for substandard care, incompetence or negligence and 1 who was convicted of a crime.

The Arkansas State Medical Board sent copies of yearly newsletters that covered disciplinary actions taken from March 1993 through December 1999. These newsletters include the physician’s name, degree, license number, address, date and type of action taken and the reason for the action. The reports contain information on terminations of board actions but not on court decisions affecting board actions. Arkansas informed us no such actions had taken place.

The information provided covers disciplinary actions taken against allopathic physicians (MDs) and osteopathic physicians (DOs).

According to the Federation of State Medical Boards, Arkansas took 27 serious disciplinary actions against MDs and DOs in 1999. Compared to the 5,486 MDs licensed in the state, the Board had a serious disciplinary action rate of 4.92 serious actions per 1,000 MDs and ranked 12th on that list (see Table A).

As of this publication date, this state does not have a web site available to consumers.  For more information, check our February 2000 Survey of Doctor Disciplinary Information on State Medical Board Web Sites.

The tables below summarize the data Public Citizen received from Arkansas.

Table 1. Disciplinary Actions Against MDs and DOs 1990 through 1999*
Action	Number	Percent**
Revocation	22	13.1%
Surrender	9	5.4%
Suspension	19	11.3%
Probation	54	32.1%
Practice Restriction	0	0.0%
Action Taken Against Controlled Substance License	3	1.8%
Other Actions	61	36.3%
Total Actions	168	100.0%

* This table lists only the two most serious disciplinary actions taken against a physician
** Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

Table 2. Offenses for which MDs and DOs were Disciplined 1990 through 1999*
Offense	Number	Percent
Criminal Conviction	1	3.6%
Sexual Abuse of or Sexual Misconduct with a Patient	1	3.6%
Substandard Care, Incompetence or Negligence	1	3.6%
Misprescribing or Overprescribing Drugs	4	14.3%
Substance Abuse	11	39.3%
Disciplinary Action Taken Against License by Another State or Agency	5	17.9%
Other Offenses	5	17.9%
Total Records With Offense Listed	28	100.0%

* Includes only those actions for which an offense was listed and for which we had a corresponding term in our database.

Table 3. Disciplinary Actions Taken for Substance Abuse
Action	Number	Percent
Revocation	1	6.7%
Suspension	5	33.3%
Probation	7	46.7%
Restriction of Controlled Substance License	1	6.7%
Fine	1	6.7%
Total Actions	15	100.0%

If you feel that your doctor has not given you proper medical care or has mistreated you in any way--whether or not he or she is listed in this report--it is important that you let your state medical board know. Even if they do not immediately act on your complaint, it is important that the information be recorded in their files because it is possible that other people may have filed or will file complaints about the same doctor. Send a brief written description of what occurred to the addresses below or call the phone numbers listed for more information on how to file a complaint.

Address
Arkansas State Medical Board
Peggy Pryor-Cryer, Executive Secretary
2100 Riverfront Drive, Suite 200
Little Rock, AR 72202-1793
(501) 296-1802