nationalcover.gif (12529 bytes)WEST VIRGINIA

 

1999 serious action rate: 4.47/1000 doctors
1999 ranking: 17th

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In West Virginia, there were disciplinary actions reported against 247 doctors including 15 who were disciplined for substance abuse, 21 for misprescribing or overprescribing drugs, 3 for sexual abuse of or sexual misconduct with a patient, 22 for substandard care, incompetence or negligence and 22 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 West Virginia Board of Medicine provided bound annual reports for 1988 through 1991 that include copies of every disciplinary order issued by the Board during those years, dismissal orders for charges the Board found to be unsubstantiated, and cases opened by the Board. The Board also began sending these orders separately from the annual reports which we have through 1997. For 1998 and 1999, the board sent quarterly newsletters. The orders and newsletters state the physician's name, degree, license number, the address, the date and type of action, and the reason for the action. The orders include information on terminations of board actions but not on court decisions affecting board actions. West Virginia sent separate information on these actions.

The West Virginia Board of Osteopathy sent a listing covering disciplinary actions from 1990 through 1999. The listing contains the physician's name, degree, license number, date of birth and the date and type of action, as well as information on modifications and terminations of board actions but not on court decisions affecting board actions.

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

Besides disciplinary actions taken by the State Medical Boards, 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 West Virginia or that match a physician disciplined by West Virginia are also included.

BS00024A.gif (1893 bytes) West Virgina Board Internet address: http://www.wvdhhr.org/wvbom
This state has a web site which we have graded B 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. The Osteopathic Board has a separate web site http://www.wvdhhr.org/wvbom/. We did not rate osteopathic boards in our survey.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, West Virginia took 19 serious disciplinary actions against MDs in 1999. Compared to the 4,249 MDs licensed in the state, West Virginia had a serious disciplinary action rate of 4.47 serious actions per 1,000 MDs and ranked 17th on that list (see Table A).

The tables below summarize the data Public Citizen received from West Virginia.

Table 1. Disciplinary Actions Against MDs 1990 through 1999
Action Number Percent
Revocation 29 6.9%
Surrender 66 15.8%
Suspension 29 6.9%
Probation 89 21.2%
Practice Restriction 36 8.6%
Action Taken Against Controlled Substance License 6 1.4%
Other Actions 164 39.1%
Total Actions 419 100.0%

* 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 were Disciplined 1990 through 1999*

Offense

Number

Percent

Criminal Conviction

23 10.3%

Sexual Abuse of or Sexual Misconduct with a Patient

 3 1.3%

Substandard Care, Incompetence or Negligence

 24 10.7%

Misprescribing or Overprescribing Drugs

22 9.8%

Substance Abuse

18 8.0%

Disciplinary Action Taken Against License by Another State or Agency

35 15.6%

Other Offenses

99 44.2%

Total Records With Offense Listed

224

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

3

8.8%

Surrender

3

8.8%

Suspension

2

5.9%

Emergency Suspension

1

2.9%

Probation

7

20.6%

Practice Restriction

4

11.8%

Fine

2

5.9%

Reprimand

2

5.9%

Other Actions

10

29.4%

Total Actions

34

100.0%

 

Table 4. Disciplinary Actions Taken for Criminal Conviction
Action

Number

Percent
Revocation

10

32.3%
Surrender

1

3.2%

Suspension

 6

19.4%

Emergency Suspension

1

3.2%

Probation

7

22.6%

Fine

2

6.5%

Other Actions

4

12.9%

Total Actions

31

100.00%

 

Table 5. Disciplinary Actions Taken for Misprescribing or Overprescribing Drugs

Action

Number

Percent

Revocation

1

2.7%

Surrender

3

8.1%

Revocation, Surrender, or Suspension of Controlled Substance License

2

5.4%

Emergency Suspension

1

2.7%

Probation

9

24.3%

Restriction of Controlled Substance License

2

5.4%

Fine

11

29.7%

Education

1

2.7%

Other Actions

7

18.9%

Total Actions

37

100.0%

 

Table 6. Disciplinary Actions Taken for Substance Abuse

Action

Number

Percent

Surrender

2

6.3%

Suspension

3

9.4%

Probation

11

34.4%

Required to Enter an Impaired Physician Program or Substance Abuse Treatment

3

9.4%

Other Actions

13

40.6%

Total Actions

32

100.00%

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

West Virginia Board of Medicine
Ronald Walton, Executive Director
101 Dee Drive
Charleston, WV 25311
(304) 558-2921
Fax: (304) 558-2084
Internet address: http://www.wvdhhr.org/wvbom


West Virginia Board of Osteopathy
Joseph E. Schreiber, DO, Secretary
334 Penco Rd.
Weirton, WV 26062
(304) 723-4638
Internet address: http://www.wvdhhr.org/wvbom/.