PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATIONS BASIC FACT
PATTERNS OF PHYSICIAN PRACTICE CLOSINGS OR DEPARTURES
Practically speaking, there are five scenarios that involve
departures from practice
1. A solo
practitioner is retiring or closing a practice. The retiring physician should
send a letter to patients with sufficient time to allow them to seek alternative
care (sixty {60} days, at a minimum), and an opportunity to pick up their
medical records or request that they be transferred to another provider.
2. A physician in a multi-physician practice is retiring or
leaving the geographic practice area. In this instance, the departing physician
and/or practice should send a letter notifying patients of the change, and
offering to provide continuous care for the patients, or offering to transfer records
to another provider upon request. Again, at least a sixty day notice should be
provided. If a physician in a continuing practice dies, the practice may send a
letter offering to provide continuing care or transfer records.
3. A physician is leaving to join a competing practice.
Often, these situations are acrimonious. The Position Statements do not specify
whose duty it is to notify the patients, only that it must be done. The best
approach is for the continuing practice and the departing physician to send a
joint letter notifying patients of the departure, the departing physician’s new
practice location; and the willingness of the continuing practice to see the
patients, transfer the patient’s records to the departing physician or transfer
the records to another physician. If it is not possible to send a joint letter,
remember that the ultimate responsibility to inform the patients falls on the
continuing practice. Bottom line: please do not allow a professional divorce to
supersede one’s professional duty.
4. A physician in a solo practice must stop seeing patients
at short notice. This may be due to the sudden onset of a health condition
which makes it difficult for the physician to practice well. It may also arise
from the physician’s need to seek treatment for substance or alcohol abuse; the
physician’s execution of a non-practice agreement with the Medical Board; or
because the Medical Board has suspended the physician’s medical license.
5. A physician in a
solo practice dies or abandons his practice. In this situation, members of the
local medical community, professional society, specialty group or hospital may
need to step in, as a service to the public, to provide notice to the patients
and arrange storage and retrieval of medical records. In this situation, which
fortunately is quite rare, it may be impracticable to provide notice by phone,
email or U.S. mail. Instead, constructive notice may be made by placing a
letter on the office door, and by placing an advertisement in the local
newspaper. The duty to provide this notice and secure patient records is not
imposed on anyone in particular. In the past, other local physicians, the
county medical society, the physician’s specialty group, or the Medical Board
have stepped in to assist the patients.
Physicians and/or Healthcare Providers have obligations
when closing /retiring / expired /
relocation of a medical office. There are LOCAL / STATE /
FEDERAL regulations that must be complied with to avoid Penalties
and/or Sanctions.
For complete details on procedures in closing, relocating ,
or expired physician, please feel free to contact us:
SILBEN Healthcare Services, INC.
Paul G. Silverio-Benet
Phone: 305-975-1171
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