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

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.

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.

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