- State Sanctions
- Federal Sanctions
- Disciplinary Actions
Disciplinary actions are actions taken to punish or restrict physicians who have demonstrated professional misconduct. HealthGrades reports state and federal disciplinary actions (if any) from the previous 5 years except when a physician's license has been revoked or surrendered.
Physicians with a disciplinary action in one state will often move to another state where they may have a clean record. Since HealthGrades painstakingly compiles disciplinary action information from all 50 states, you'll know if a physician has an action in more than one state.
Board Certification- Is your physician board certified?
- In what specialties is your physician certified to practice?
Certification lets you know that a physician has gone above and beyond what medical licensure requires, receiving additional training and examination to be certified in a particular specialty.
A physician who is not board certified may still be an excellent physician. Some physicians choose not to apply for certification. If you are considering a doctor who is not board certified, it may be important to know why he or she is not certified.
Certification lets you know that a physician has successfully completed an accredited educational program, passed several evaluations, and possesses the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to provide care in the certified specialty. Once certified, physicians must attend continuing medical education programs throughout their careers in order to remain certified.
Education- Medical School
- Residency Training
- Internships
Physician education and training is demanding and extensive. Continuing medical education is a life-long pursuit due to constant advances and changes in medicine. With HealthGrades, you'll know if your physician is keeping up with all the latest technology.
The longer a physician has been practicing, the more likely that he or she is experienced with a wide variety of issues. A more recent graduate, however, may have in-depth knowledge about medical advances for treating a specific condition.
Awards & Recognitions- HealthGrades Five-Star and Recognized Physicians
- Bridges to Excellence® Recognitions
- Physician Reported Awards & Recognitions
- Memberships & Interests
- Publications & Media Appearances
To ensure that you receive the best possible care, be sure to use quality information, take an active role in making decisions about your care, and look for physicians who meet quality standards of excellence.
WatchDog Notifications‡- Newly Reported Professional Misconduct (Malpractice or Sanctions)
- New Patient Ratings
- New Certifications or Recognitions
- Office Changes or Procedures Offered
- ...and much more
After you carefully select your physician based on good quality measures, stay up-to-date on your physician's information. With WatchDog, HealthGrades notifies you immediately via email alerts when any of your doctor's information changes.
When you order a physician quality report here, you will begin your free trial membership in HealthGrades Watchdog Email Notifications. If you don't cancel your membership within the 14-day trial period, you will be billed $9.95 for each month that you continue your membership. You may cancel your trial membership any time within 14 days of enrollment without charge.
HealthGrades has found no sanction history for Dr. Uhlig for the last 5 years.
What is a Sanction?
Sanctions, also known as disciplinary actions, are actions taken to punish or restrict physicians who have demonstrated professional misconduct. HealthGrades reports state and federal disciplinary actions (if any) from the previous 5 years except when a physician’s license has been revoked or surrendered.
Physicians with a disciplinary action in one state will often move to another state where they may have a clean record. Since HealthGrades painstakingly compiles disciplinary action information from all 50 states, you’ll know if a physician has an action in more than one state.
What this means to you:
If a physician has a sanction, it does not necessarily mean that he or she is a bad doctor. Evaluate the information and determine how severe you think the cause and action were.
What is a Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is ordinary negligence by a healthcare provider which causes injury. Examples include being improperly diagnosed, treated, medicated or operated upon outside the standard of care.
HealthGrades reports details of malpractice history when a physician has at least one closed medical malpractice claim within the last five years. Because state data varies, the details presented vary. If your physician has a closed malpractice claim in one of the states available to us, it will be listed even if he or she no longer practices in that state. If your physician has malpractice claims in multiple states, evaluate the information for similarities. It is possible for multiple states to report the same claim.
Just because a physician has a settlement or an arbitration award, it does not mean that he or she is a poor-quality physician. Claim settlements may occur for a variety of reasons which should not necessarily reflect negatively on the physician's professional competence or conduct. A settlement payment on a medical malpractice action or claim is not a presumption that medical malpractice has occurred.
A malpractice judgment is a court order for a physician to pay a party a certain amount of money. This official decision by a court may or not be based on a jury verdict; however it is a conclusion that a civil wrong has occurred, typically based upon a preponderance of the evidence presented.
What this means to you.
If your physician has settled a malpractice claim or has a judgment on a malpractice claim, evaluate the information and make a determination. You may want to use this information to start a discussion with the physician.
