Medical Practice Act – Physician Disciplinary Grounds
Published: Apr 03, 2026 by Jeffrey FortkampPrepared by Jeffrey Fortkamp, Esq., Attorney at Graff & McGovern, LPA
States are authorized under the United States Constitution to establish laws and regulations protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of their citizens.[1] To protect the public from the unprofessional, improper, unlawful, or incompetent practice of medicine, each of the states and territories making up the United States has formally adopted a Medical Practice Act (MPA), which defines the requirements for the practice of medicine within their borders and gives authority to a medical board to enforce the act’s provisions.[2]
The duty of the medical board includes not only the licensing and re-registration of physicians, but also includes the responsibility of evaluating whether a physician’s professional conduct or ability to practice medicine warrants modification, suspension, or revocation of the license to practice.[3] The MPA defines unprofessional conduct in each state.[4] Although laws vary by jurisdiction some examples of unprofessional conduct include:
- failing to meet applicable standards of care,
- abuse of a patient,
- inadequate record keeping,
- not recognizing or acting on common symptoms,
- prescribing drugs in excessive amounts without legitimate reason,
- impaired ability to practice due to addiction,
- failing to meet continuing medical education requirements,
- performing duties beyond the scope of a license,
- dishonesty,
- conviction of a felony or specific misdemeanors, and
- inappropriately delegating the practice of medicine to an unlicensed individual.[5]
The following table, prepared by the staff at the law firm Graff & McGovern, LPA in the course of its representation of a client practicing medicine in multiple states, links to the various state laws listing the grounds for disciplinary action for physicians.[6]
Continue to monitor the Graff & McGovern, LPA website for future articles on the Medical Practice Act.
If you are a physician facing an investigation and/or a potential sanction against your medical license in one or more states, please contact the law firm Graff & McGovern, LPA to learn how we can help you defend your license in each state you are licensed to practice.
[1] Federation of State Medical Boards, Guide to Medical Regulation in the United States (https://www.fsmb.org/).
[2] Id.
[3] Virtual Mentor. 2005;7(4):311-314.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Some states’ MPA distinguish between allopathic and osteopathic physicians, this summary is specific to allopathic physicians only if there is a distinction within the state; as with every state law, there may be an administrative rule that amplifies the statute, such instances are noted below; and, access to the revised code varies by state, so when possible, the links below go to the state’s official repository for laws, alternatively to the state’s medical board, and then to a third-party, such as Justia Law or Lexis.