If you have a disciplinary record against your medical license, it could potentially harm your practice. Patients have the ability to look up your license and see your disciplinary record. Under a relatively new law, Act 6, that Pennsylvania enacted in 2018, you can apply for the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs to expunge certain disciplinary records.
According to the Pennsylvania Medical Society, you must pay a fee of $155 when you submit your application for expungement. In addition, you must also ensure that you have paid any fines or fees related to the disciplinary proceeding before you apply. You cannot apply for expungement if you are in a current disciplinary status, e.g., on probation or suspension. You also cannot apply if you are the subject of a current investigation.
You can only have a disciplinary record against your medical license expunged one time. A prior history disqualifies you from future expungements. You must also wait at least four years after the final disposition of the disciplinary record before you can apply for expungement.
Even if you meet the other requirements, only certain records are eligible for expungement. You can apply if the violation involved practicing up to six months on a license, permit, certification or registration that had expired or lapsed. The other type of disciplinary record that is eligible is a failure to complete continuing education requirements. Act 6 does not allow the expungement of disciplinary records against your medical license for any other type of violations.
If you qualify, you will eventually be able to submit an application for expungement online. Until then, you must submit it to the BPOA.