Compliance with Disciplinary Final Orders: What happens if I fail to comply?

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) and their professional regulatory Boards have authority over health care practitioners and facility licenses in Florida. This includes taking disciplinary action against those licenses when necessary.  When the DOH or a professional regulatory Board takes disciplinary action on a health care practitioner or facility license, a Final Order (Order) is issued. The Order outlines the disciplinary requirements that must be complied with.

Typically, an Order is issued within thirty (30) days of the DOH or professional regulatory board taking action against the health care practitioner or facility license. The file date of the Order is also the effective date, unless otherwise provided for in the Order. The requirements listed in the Order typically have strict deadlines that must be adhered to.  Here are some examples:

• Fines and costs are typically due within thirty (30) days of the effective date of the Order.
• Continuing education is typically due within one (1) year of the effective date of the Order.

You might be wondering how important it is to meet the deadlines for the requirements listed in the Order. Many professionals ask us whether missing these deadlines will cause any issues. Well, it is extremely important.  What happens if you fail to meet one of the deadlines of your Order?

The DOH’s Compliance Management Unit (CMU) was created in the Bureau of Enforcement to monitor the compliance of health care licensees and facility licensees with their disciplinary Orders. When the assigned Compliance Officer (Officer) receives your Order, which is about the same time as you do, the Officer will send you a packet of information on your Order requirements. The packet will include information on how to comply, and they will even provide you with due dates. They will not send reminders.  It’s your responsibility to be in compliance.

The Officers are not permitted to respond to legal questions, and they do not represent you.  They represent the DOH.  Their job is to file a complaint if you fail to comply with one or more of your Order requirements.

Example: You are a physician and you have a $5,000.00 fine due on June 2, 2026. You fail to pay the fine at all or pay it on time.

Just like a Probation Officer will issue an arrest warrant for violation of probation, a DOH Officer will file a complaint against your license if you fail to pay the fine on that date or before. This could result in another complaint against your license that you must spend time and money defending. This could lead to the issuance of another Order imposing additional requirements on your license.

However, violations of an Order are easy to avoid.  There are legal options that can help avoid situations such as the one provided in the example above, such as requesting a payment plan or an extension of time to pay the fine. Our law firm is ready to assist you in understanding your options.  Some of the things we can help with include:

• Providing assistance to petition your professional regulatory Board for reinstatement of a suspended license or petition to lift restrictions imposed on your license;
• Preparing supervisory reports and/or employment letters;
• Preparing supervisory requests for approval;
• Providing assistance with obtaining a supervising monitor;
• Providing assistance obtaining approval of supervising monitor;
• Providing assistance with locating continuing education courses;
• Providing assistance with obtaining a payment plan to pay your fines and/or costs;
• Providing assistance with obtaining a certified risk manager to prepare your risk assessment;
• Providing instructions/guidelines/deadlines regarding requirements with steps to comply;
• Providing checklists to ensure you complete each necessary step for the requirements.

In the unfortunate situation that another complaint is filed against your license for violation of a previous Order, we are also ready to help you defend your license.