We understand the process can feel daunting. In healthcare, non-solicitation restrictions can extend to patients and other providers who refer patients to the practice or business. To prevent this, you need to procure a supplemental endorsement policy, commonly referred to as tail coverage, which appends to the primary policy and insures you for claims made after your employment terminates. However, there are several other elements that could be helpful to your patients as they are searching for their next provider, having their medications refilled, or other specific needs related to continuation of care. The physician will have the opportunity to mentor new physicians. State advises, Complaints of patient abandonment or neglect can be avoided by giving patients sufficient notice of the practice closure. There is no specific time period required. And 4) The state is completely silent on patient notification without any guidance available. This may vary from practice to practice. The legal guidelines regarding patient notification vary for each state. 7.03. Illinois General Assembly Public Act 84-7; 92-228 states health care facilities must provide the public with at least 30 days prior notice of the closure of the facility. When preparing your notifications: Looking at the closing medical practice notification guidelines of all 50 states, some are silent on providing guidance, while others provide a vague range of recommendations. If you use certified, return receipt mail, you can place a copy of the letter and return receipt in the patients file in case there is ever an issue of notification., https://www.albme.gov/resources/licensees/practice-issues, Alaska State Medical Board adopted AMA policy No. Physicians are under a tremendous amount of pressure in todays health care environment as costs escalate, reimbursement declines and the malpractice crisis continues. Can a medical doctor perform acupuncture? Common questions include: Navigating the line between non-solicitation and patient abandonment poses a challenge. Wyoming Administrative Code Chapter 3; Section 5 states, (b) Any physician licensed by the board who desires to relocate or close a medical practice shall notify patients of such termination, sale, or relocation and unavailability by causing to be published once during each week for four (4) consecutive weeks, in the newspaper of greatest circulation in each county in which the physician practices or practiced and in a local newspaper that serves the immediate practice area, a display advertisement which shall contain the date of termination, sale, or relocation and an address at which the records may be obtained from the physician or terminating the practice or located or from another licensed physician. The scope of practice of CNAs, as well as other nursing professions (RN, APRN, etc.) The Florida Medical Association (FMA) recommends to a practitioner who wishes to terminate a relationship that the practitioner should give the patient adequate notice in writing, and the practitioner should remain available to the patient for at least 30 days in order to allow time for the patient to find a new practitioner. (ii) Publishing a notice in the newspaper of greatest general circulation in each county in which the physician practices or practiced and in a local newspaper that serves the immediate practice area; AND The notice must include an explanation of how copies of the facilitys records may be accessed by patients. However, the information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for informational purposes only. Title: Retention of medical records and patient notification upon closure of a practice Number: OP04 -29 References: Board Minutes January 23, 2004, April 2, 2004; November 7, 2014; September 11, 2020 . https://regulations.justia.com/states/wyoming/medicine-board-of/medicine-board-of/chapter-3/section-5/. This settlement addresses several questions that often arise when a physician (or other health care professional) departs a hospital or medical group (health care entity). For determining your best course of action on notification, rely on an experienced custodial records provider that can share examples of what others have done, participate in a dialog with your malpractice insurer or healthcare attorney, and determine what is best for your specific practice type and patients in order to balance cost, patient care, and reasonability. Another helpful approach, particularly for specialized physicians, is to provide referrals to nearby practices or physicians offering similar types of care or services. You may start by searching for your state requirements, but quickly end up at a third-part source that has paraphrased or misinterpreted the laws. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-630.html#NRS630Sec304, NH Rev Stat 329:9 Section: Med 501.02 Standards of Conduct. 1. For assistance, members of The Doctors Company can contact a patient safety risk manager at (800) 421-2368 or by email. Texas Medical Board. is regulated by the Florida Board of Nursing. It is critical that you understand what you have promised to do and what has been promised to you via these documents. If the restrictive covenant specifically prohibits the physician from treating patients he saw while employed with his former employer, there is case law that indicates a physician may not be able to treat the patient regardless of who establishes first contact. This means that if a malpractice event occurs during your employment but the claim is not filed until after you have left the practice, the malpractice insurer will not cover that claim because it was not made during your term of employment. Accessed January 18, 2023. Notify patients in writing, through a letter carefully crafted with input from practice colleagues or the employing . Some employment agreements indicate that the practices general policies and procedures may be applicable even if they are contrary to the physicians employment agreement. This notice shall be no less than two columns wide and no less than two inches in height. However, weve found its always useful to clarify what exactly non-solicitation and patient abandonment mean and what they do not mean. At the mediation, the single specialty practice initially took the position that: (1) if a patient contacted them asking for an appointment with one of the departing physicians, the practice would . Questions? The requirements of this rule shall not apply to a physician who has retired from or sold his or her medical practice if: Such physician has notified his or her active patients of retirement from or sale of practice by mail. The notice must include at least the following information: (1) a notice to the patient that the physician will no longer be practicing medicine as an employee of the health care entity and the date on which the physician ceased or will cease to practice as an employee of the health care entity; (2) except where the health care entity has a . What is the health care entitys responsibility when a physician departs? The key is to prevent patients from falling through the cracks because of tensions between the physician and the practice. Sources Likewise, physicians often agree to pay for tail coverage if they terminate their employment without cause. The FMA also recommends that the practitioner terminating the relationship should provide assistance in locating another practitioner for the patient. If you are not familiar with your states requirements, contact a health care attorney in your area for advice. 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. Not only does this ensure a smooth transition from the current physician to the new treating physician, but it also reduces the liability of patient abandonment. Therefore, to ensure this occurs with a minimum of disruption in continuity of care, the physician terminating the physician-patient relationship should notify patients sufficiently in advance., https://www.mbc.ca.gov/Licensees/Close_Practice.aspx. Notification may be satisfied using any of the following methods: (1) by placing a notice in at least one newspaper in the local practice area; notice should advise patients where their medical records will be stored; notice should include any pertinent information the patient may need for obtaining or transferring the records, including the name, mailing address and telephone number of a contact person with access to the stored records; notification should run a minimum of two times per month for three months to reach a maximum number of patients; or (2) by written or electronic mail; or (3) by individual correspondence to the patients last known physical or electronic mail address. We can help you assess your rights and responsibilities. All of this increases the likelihood that you or one of your colleagues will leave your current practice. Mustafa Kinaan has shown his dedication to the Central Florida community throughout his graduate medical education (GME) journey. A physician in a multi-physician practice is retiring or leaving the geographic practice area. When you compare any random series of practice types for example, psychiatry, dental, OB/GYN, or pain management you quickly realize a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for notifying patients of your closing practice. While some employers will contractually agree to pay tail insurance in certain events, a thorough review of your employment agreement, and sometimes the shareholders or operating agreement, will determine who is responsible for procuring tail coverage. Such property is confidential and, therefore, not to be used or disclosed following termination of the providers employment. Many states require that patients be notified when a physician is departing a practice. An inaugural UCF resident who served veterans as a chief resident and whose career goal is to cure diabetes is the new leader of the College of Medicine's endocrinology fellowship in greater Orlando. Under Florida law, when a licensed physician terminates practice, or relocates and is no longer available to patients, the physician must publicly announce their withdrawal from practice by publishing an announcement once a week, for four consecutive weeks. State advises providers follow (1) AMA and (2) Louisiana State Medical Society Guidelines. Every state has a long list of requirements to obtain and maintain a license to practice medicine, but when it comes to closing a practice, most states only offer (at best) guidelines for what to do when ending a practice, and some states offer no guidance at all. Copyright 2006 - 2023 Law Business Research. Provide notice to those active patients which explains that the licensee is no longer available to them, b. Texas Medical Liability Trust Resource Hub, Physicians who are retiring, closing, or leaving a practice can notify patients electronically and by posting a notice on their practice website, according to rules from the Texas Medical Board (TMB). It does not create an attorney-client relationship between our firm and the reader. Failure to practice in an acceptable professional manner consistent with public health and welfare within the meaning of the Act includes, but is not limited to: (j) termination of patient care without providing reasonable notice to the patient. The settlement arose from events in the spring of 2015. Leaving a practice can be a stressful time in any physicians career. http://164.64.110.134/parts/title16/16.010.0017.html, Additional Resources: The New Mexico Medical Society offers, Closing Your Practice Guide: Though every clients situation is unique, a good place to start when planning for your practices records after retirement or closure is reviewing the legal guidelines for your state regarding patient notification. This may be a requirement in your state, but make sure your plan also includes more effective notification methods that contain modern avenues of communicating that will more likely reach your patients. It must protect the patients medical record and not release it without patient authorization. For example, practices often agree to pay for tail coverage in the event that employment is terminated by the practice without cause. For the states that do not offer specific guidance on closing a medical facility and simply defer to AMA or state medical society guidelines, understand these are third-party sources are merely providing general guidance, and not legal or practice-specific advice. First, ensure proper notice is provided to patients as well as all interested governmental entities and other organizations. Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following: (17) Abandoning a patient. According toSchneiderman, Other medical centers, hospitals, health care providers, and health care entities should view this settlement asa warning, and take the time now to review and amend, asneeded, their own policies and procedures to better protect private patient information.. Ensure that their records can be transferred to another health care provider as requested by the patient, and c. Whenever possible, notice shall be provided at least 30 days prior to cessation of treatment; and (10) After transfer of the licensees medical records which meets the requirements of (9) above, the licensee shall be relieved of further responsibility for complying with requests for copies of records., http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/state_agencies/med100-600.html, State advises in Section 1-15, The doctor must notify the patient, in writing, that he/she will no longer provide care as a date certain, which cannot be less than thirty days prior to the termination date. It may also resolve the issue in advance by including a provision in the physicians written employment or other affiliation agreement that specifies the details of the notice that the health care entity will send in the event of the physicians departure. Placing a sign on the door of the closed practice only works if the space will not have future tenants. Colorado provides a combination of guidelines and state laws, and while their categorization in terms of whether its a law or mere guidance isnt completely clear, when considering the information as a whole it compels Colorado physicians to make provisions to ensure the physician (or estate) isnt liable for abandoning patients or their records. The American Medical Association's Ethical Opinion E-7.03 provides that "[t]he patients of a physician who leaves a group practice should be notified that the physician is leaving the group . Such clauses generally cover a specific geographic area and period of time. If a non-solicitation attempted to forbid any treatment whatsoever of patients from the employers practice, then it would likely be unenforceable in Illinois. Accessed January 18, 2023. These policies and others are discussed separately below. The notice to patients should be a minimum of 30 days. leaving a practice Within 90 days after a death . Abandonment occurs when a physician withdraws his services after a physician-patient relationship has been established, by failing to give notice to the patient of the physicians intention to withdraw in sufficient time to allow the patient to obtain necessary medical care. Negotiations over non-solicitation restrictions can play out like a game of tug of war. The physician fails to allow for patient access to or transfer of the patients health record as required by law. What if a given non-solicitation provision does not restrict a providers right to notify patients of his or her departure? From tail coverage to giving notice, heres how to prepare yourself, your partners and your patients for your departure. What should be in the notice? The notification letter should be professional and nonconfrontational, and it should set a tone that aims to maintain the best possible relationship with the patient. For some, challenges come from [], All businesses know that protecting vital operational data and records is paramount in the digital landscape. Such an approach may frustrate the provider who is leaving. Whether the practice pays for tail coverage often depends on the type of termination effected. Practice fined for response to social media review, Dallas dental practice fined $10,000 after publishing PHI in response to a patient review on Yelp, Texting patients while staying HIPAA compliant. Some require an extraordinarily long notice period (such as one year) before the physician can qualify for deferred compensation payments. The FMA also . 9. A 68-year-old woman came to an orthopedic surgeon due to pain in both knees. Copyright 1997-2023 TMLT. Since most patients do not receive a monthly notice, it is common practice to place a dignified advertisement in two or three editions of the local newspaper notifying the general public, as well as past and present patients., https://apps.ok.gov/osboe/documents/Closing%20DO%20Office.pdf, State advises, If you plan to cease the practice of medicine in Oregon, you are required to ensure safe storage and access to patient records. Your contract may require that you give your practice advance written notice of your departure. Nevada Revised Statues (NRS) 630.304 states, The following acts, among others, constitute grounds for initiating disciplinary action or denying licensure: (7) Terminating the medical care of a patient without adequate notice or without making other arrangements for the continued care of the patient. You should note, however, that most states allow a patient to request that his or her chart be forwarded to a departing physician, in which case the physician can, at that time, receive the chart from the practice. These functions included taking phone calls from existing patients with treatment-related questions. 219, or send a letter to Harris County Medical Society, John P. McGovern Building, 1515 Hermann Dr, Houston, TX 77004-7126. In our experience at Jackson LLP, rarely are any two non-solicitation clauses alike. A non-solicitation provision is usually triggered only by an action. As we were assembling the resources for this document, we were amazed at the level of vague, incomplete, and even inaccurate material on the internet regarding notification requirements for closing medical practices. The American Medical Associations Ethical Opinion E-7.03 provides that [t]he patients of a physician who leaves a group practice should be notified that the physician is leaving the group.. The health care entity, which is the party responsible for maintaining custody of the medical record, should send the notice. This creates a quandary because although you may need new employees, you do not want to appear to be soliciting from the existing practice. Therefore, patients should be given reasonable advance notice to allow their securing other care. However, it at least informs the patients that the provider is not responsible for their further care. Mailing letters to every patient in your statutory retention window may not be effective either, especially if your state has a baseline of 7-10 years for medical records retention. Abandonment also occurs when a physician leaves the employment of a group practice, hospital, clinic or other health-care facility, without the physician giving reasonable notice and under circumstances which seriously impair the delivery of medical care to patients., https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/049/chapter16/chap16toc.html&d=, State advises, Publish a notice 90 days before closing a practice in a newspaper with statewide circulation, including information on how patients can get their medical records (when a physician is deceased, the heirs or the estate must give the same public notice within 90 days); Send a letter to patients that have been seen within the past year notifying them of the practice closure., https://health.ri.gov/healthcare/about/closingpractices/, State advises, Doctors should advertise in all papers, and notify all patients (no matter how long ago treated) the letter of closing.