Services Overview

CPR continues to develop a coordinated approach to provide supportive and strategic advisory services to affected physicians.


Currently, CPR offers two direct client services - the Curbside Consult and the Comprehensive Case Overview Program.

Curbside Consult

When one is contacted by a medical licensing board, or a peer review or "performance appraisal" committee, or it has been suggested (or one has been ordered) to report to a PHP for a fitness-for-duty assessment, things can escalate quickly.


In our experience, and certainly reflective of those of us who have taken this journey, most physicians are extremely naive to the investigative and regulatory power of these entities. And this is to their extreme detriment.


Invariably, a host of issues arises and actions must be taken and decisions must be made. Each of these is fraught with consequences.

Given the awesome life-and-death power that these entities have (which we refer to as the "Medical Regulatory Therapeutic Complex" or MRTC for short (see our article "Systematic Abuse and Misuse of Psychiatry in the Medical Regulatory Therapeutic Complex") and the extraordinarily complex legal labyrinth that one must navigate, we believe that it is vital that physicians get expert guidance on the challenges ahead.


CPR is pleased to offer a unique confidential “curbside consultation” service. Offered via private Zoom (video call preferable, but audio-only via Zoom or even one's own phone is also fine), the curbside consult is a 30 minute pre-scheduled private conversation in which the physcian can share his/her story and ask questions. In setting up the curbside consult, the physician is asked to complete a concise intake form so that we can tailor the call to your particular situation. We certainly recognize that these matters are often complex and nuanced. Thus, the intake form helps winnow down the focus to the big picture and immediate concerns.


CPR strives to offer immediately applicable and straightforward feedback about one’s current challenge and practical guidance about moving forward.


After the curbside consultation, CPR is pleased to offer the "Comprehensive Case Overview Program" enabling a deeper dive into the case specifics and exploring tailored suggestions on optimal approaches. A detailed brochure is available once you have completed the curbside consultation.


While the curbside consultation program has served hundreds of physicians without charge, after careful consideration, we decided it was best to offer these initial "sound out" consultations for a small fee. It is still a fraction of the standard case consultation fee. We've learned that committing to a fee for a specific appointment time strongly encourages people to take their commitment seriously and keep that appointment. Doing so helps keep these times available for physicians who genuinely want to get knowledgeable feedback and obtain guidance.


You can schedule your curbside consultation by clicking here.

Comprehensive Case Overview Program

Since our formation as a non-profit advocacy organization in late 2018, we have striven to design a specialized program that could help physicians protect their legal rights in their encounters with state medical licensing boards, physician health programs and peer review or performance appraisal committees. These are generally non-overseen and non-accountable entities who hold immense power over physicians’ careers.


We envisioned a program with a stratified menu of offerings, a program that validated physicians’ concerns about the reality of potentially grave harms from infringement of their rights, and provided a knowledgeable resource by which to sound out, make sense of, and navigate their case. It would be one that could provide a thoughtful case analysis and an exploration of potential approaches and risks. And it would be a program that could provide ongoing guidance and support as one fought to defend their rights, have a fair hearing, and bring the matter to prompt and optimal closure.

CPR’s Comprehensive Case Overview Program joins together an initial sound out “curbside consultation,” a detailed case review program, and if desired an ongoing expert-guided mentoring program to assist physicians who find themselves confronting disciplinary, fitness-for-duty, and staff credentialing issues with state medical licensing boards, physician health programs (PHPs) and hospital peer review (or alternately performance appraisal or annual review) entities. We’ve come to refer to these functional entities as the Medical Regulatory Therapeutic Complex (MRTC).


While initially started with a focus on non-academic physicians practicing in the community, the Comprehensive Case Overview Program expanded to assist physicians in academic clinical practices and ACGME post-graduate training programs (PGYs, i.e. interns, residents and fellows, and in some cases medical students) who may be similarly confronting threatened credentialing, employment or license restriction on alleged mental health, substance abuse or adverse peer review / performance appraisal concerns.

What You Can Expect From The Comprehensive Case Overview Program

Following our suggested preparatory template and program flow, you’ll come away with an in-depth understanding of the key issues of your case and increased clarity about the often obscure but legally momentous processes of these medical regulatory powers. You’ll have the unique opportunity for knowledgeable, confidential, and non-judgmental collaborative dialog to help you develop your optimal approach to these challenges. And, perhaps most importantly, you’ll find here a safe space to share your deeper concerns and receive peer support. All private and strictly confidential. It’s a program that those of us at CPR who have had direct involvement with these entities in our own careers wish that we had had access to.

The Program is strictly an educational and coaching service guided by our extensive study and wealth of case experience in this specialized and highly perilous arena. It is geared toward helping you understand and optimally respond to your current challenge and offering knowledgeable guidance enabling you to move forward in all ways necessary to assert your rights and protect your career and professional wellbeing. Considered approaches are not intended as prescriptive advice, neither legal or otherwise. Courses of action taken, whether influenced by our discussions or not, and their outcomes are solely your responsibility.


For nearly every physician, these MRTC engagements are weighty and anxiety provoking. Given the obscurity of the administrative-legal processes and the applicable rules and laws, they are often fraught with numerous decisional points with far-reaching implications and which could foreclose your rights and result in a sub-optimal outcome.


Thus, this is an individually focused coaching process. There is no one-size-fits-all approach nor is there a success playbook. Neither smooth sailing nor a successful outcome is promised or implied. These are complex, individually unique matters that require thoughtful exploration of the matrix of issues, informed by understanding of the various governing parties. It requires a commitment by the client to active preparation and participation.

We Would Be Honored To Assist You!


We recognize how weighty and complex these matters can be.

While this challenge is uniquely yours to confront, you don’t – and shouldn’t – have to face it alone. Nor should you try to master the labyrinth of medico-legal concepts; after ten years studying this arena, we know it’s simply not possible for the individual clinician caught in this matrix. CPR’s “Comprehensive Case Overview Program” was specially designed to help guide physicians through what is for many the most challenging, arduous, and indeed career-threatening period of their professional lives. We’re confident you’ll immediately recognize the unique benefit of these specialized services.


Disclaimer


The Curbside Consult and the Comprehensive Case Overview Programs do not constitute either legal or medical services. They are strictly an educational and advisory service guided by our extensive study and collective experience. They are geared toward helping you understand and optimally respond to your current challenge and to offering knowledgeable guidance that will help you move forward in all ways necessary to protect your career and professional wellbeing. Neither smooth sailing nor a successful outcome is promised or implied. These are complex, individually unique matters and they require your active participation.

© Copyright April 12, 2022 by Center for Physician Rights, Inc.

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