nationalcover.gif (12529 bytes)TENNESSEE

 

1999 serious action rate: 1.25/1000 doctors
1999 ranking: 49th


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In Tennessee, there were disciplinary actions reported against 236 doctors including 15 who were disciplined for substance abuse, 63 for misprescribing or overprescribing drugs, 1 for sexual abuse of or sexual misconduct with a patient, 13 for substandard care, incompetence or negligence and 25 who were convicted of a crime.

 

This web site provides aggregate national and state data on doctor discipline.  Names of those doctors and their offenses are NOT included on the site.  Web sites with such information need to be frequently updated and we cannot do this because of limited staff and resources available to continually monitor the information that we receive from the 51 MD and 14 DO licensing boards and the federal government.  This website does provide direct links to the web sites of those boards that have information available on the internet.

Detailed information on specific doctors who have been disciplined is included in the book which can be purchased in regional editions for $20.  The book includes disciplinary actions taken against doctors from 1990 through December 1999.

The Tennessee State Board of Medical Examiners sent monthly disciplinary action reports covering the period from 1990 through 1999 and a newsletter covering 1996. Those reports also contain disciplinary actions by the Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, which we have included in our report. The monthly reports include the physician's name, degree, city and state of residence, type of action taken, and the reason for the action. The listings contain some information on modifications and terminations of board actions but not on court decisions affecting board actions. When we asked for this information we were referred to their website. The information contained in the minutes is varied and did not include the physician's city of residence. In addition, chronological and alphabetical listings of actions from 1987 through December 1994 which list the physician's name, date and type of action taken, and minimal information on the reason for the action were sent. The information sent for 1997 and 1998 was sporadic and we strongly encourage anyone looking for information on Tennessee doctors to use their web site or call the board.

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

Besides disciplinary actions taken by the State Medical Board, this listing also includes actions taken by the Medicare/Medicaid programs, the FDA, and the DEA against physicians located in this state. Disciplinary actions taken by other states against physicians located in Tennessee or that match a physician disciplined by Tennessee are also included.

BS00024A.gif (1893 bytes) Tennessee Board Internet Address:   http://www.state.tn.us/health

This state has a web site which we have graded C on a scale of A (best) to X (worst) as part of our February 2000 Survey of Doctor Disciplinary Information on State Medical Board Web Sites.  This grade is a measure of the completeness of the information on disciplined doctors. Those state licensing boards with web sites make independent choices about the type of information to be included on their site and how often it is updated.

According to the Federation of State Medical Boards, Tennessee took 18 serious disciplinary actions against MDs and DOs in 1999. Compared to the 14,412 MDs licensed in the state, Tennessee had a serious disciplinary action rate of 1.25 serious actions per 1,000 MDs and a ranking of 49th on that list (see Table A).

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

Table 1. Disciplinary Actions Against MDs and DOs 1990 through 1999*

Action

Number

Percent**

Revocation

47

11.5%

Surrender

17

4.2%

Suspension

31

7.6%

Probation

92

22.5%

Practice Restriction

16

3.9%

Action Taken Against Controlled Substance License

37

9.0%

Other Actions

169

41.3%

Total Actions

409

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

28

11.5%

Sexual Abuse of or Sexual Misconduct with a Patient

1

0.4%

Substandard Care, Incompetence or Negligence

14

5.7%

Misprescribing or Overprescribing Drugs

65

26.6%

Substance Abuse

16

6.6%

Disciplinary Action Taken Against License by Another State or Agency

34

13.9%

Other Offenses

86

35.2%

Total Records With Offense Listed

244

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 Substandard Care, Incompetence or Negligence

Action

Number

Percent

Revocation

2

8.7%

Suspension

3

13.0%

Emergency Suspension

2

8.7%

Probation

8

34.8%

Practice Restriction

1 4.3%

Fine

1

4.3%

Other Actions

6

26.1%

Total Actions

23

100.0%

 

Table 4. Disciplinary Actions Taken for Criminal Conviction

Action

Number

Percent

Revocation

14

37.8%

Surrender

2

5.4%

Suspension

1

2.7%

Emergency Suspension

3

8.1%

Probation

7

18.9%

Fine

5

13.5%

Other Actions

5

13.5%

Total Actions

37

100.0%

 

Table 5. Disciplinary Actions Taken for Misprescribing or Overprescribing Drugs

Action

Number

Percent

Revocation

10

10.2%

Surrender

5

5.1%

Revocation, Surrender, or Suspension of Controlled Substance License

8

8.2%

Suspension

4

4.1%

Emergency Suspension

5

5.1%

Probation

22

22.4%

Restriction of Controlled Substance License

12

12.2%

Fine

14

14.3%

Education

7

7.1%

Other Actions

11

11.2%

Total Actions

98

100.0%

 

Table 6. Disciplinary Actions Taken for Substance Abuse

Action

Number

Percent

Revocation

1

4.0%

Revocation, Surrender, or Suspension of Controlled Substance License

2

8.0%

Suspension

1

4.0%

Emergency Suspension

3

12.0%

Probation

9

36.0%

Restriction of Controlled Substance License

1

4.0%

Fine

2

8.0%

Required to Enter an Impaired Physician Program or Substance Abuse Treatment

2

8.0%

Other Actions

4

16.0%

Total Actions

25

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.

Addresses
State Board of Medical Examiners of Tennessee
Kathy Riggs, Administrator
1st Floor, Cordel Hull Bldg.
425 5th Avenue, North
Nashville, TN 37247-1010
(615) 532-5222
Internet Address:  http://www.state.tn.us/health

Tennessee State Osteopathic Examiners
Judy Lee Hartman, Administrator
1st Floor, Cordel Hull Bldg.
425 5th Avenue, North 1st Floor
Nashville, TN 37247-1010
(615) 532-3202, ext. 24384
(888) 310-4650, ext. 24384