Find out if your doctor has been disciplined

Every month, the Washington State Department of Health suspends or revokes the license of health care providers, many for drug related offenses. In July and August alone, nearly two dozen lost their licenses, but State Health officials insist there isn’t an epidemic.

“It seems like a lot, but when you put it in perspective and actually look at numbers, it’s actually about one-third of one percent of all credentialed health care providers are disciplined in a given year,” says Donn Moyer, spokesman for the the Department of Health.

Moyer says the most recent numbers show about 1,200 health care providers out of over 359,000 faced suspension or revocation as of 2009. The number continues to go up, but the ratio has stayed the same.

Moyer insists health care providers’ problems are no different than any other profession’s.

“In many ways they mirror society. They have the same strengths and problems.”

A review of the most recent actions reveals a range of offenses from prescription fraud to stealing drugs and includes everyone from doctors to massage therapists.

So how do you know if your medical provider is in trouble? The state maintains a database of all actions on its website, or you can call the hotline at 360-236-4700.

Moyer says most actions stem from complaints by patients or others, so it’s important people bring their concerns to the state.

“There’s an element of expectation the government might be going out and doing random inspections and that’s simply not possible with 400,000 licensed health care professionals plus all the facilities that are out there,” he says.

Ultimately, though, he says with a little legwork, you can make sure your provider is safe.

“Statistically, yes, it’s a small number, but each one of those cases represents something involving a person’s personal health care, so it’s very important. But we are fortunate it’s a small problem,” Moyer says.