Another helpful approach, particularly for specialized physicians, is to provide referrals to nearby practices or physicians offering similar types of care or services. The case of Bloomington Urological Associates, SC v. Scaglia, 686 N.E.2d 389 (Ill. App. What is the health care entitys responsibility when a physician departs? Sources See permissionsforcopyrightquestions and/or permission requests. A provider who has not solicited a patient cannot, and should not, encounter barriers to providing treatment to that patient. When possible, the outgoing provider should try to time their exit so that patients can arrange continuity in care. Texas Medical Board. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-0087, Indiana Administrative Code 844 IAC 5-2-16 states, A practitioner, upon his/her retirement, or upon discontinuation of the practice of medicine or osteopathic medicine, or upon leaving or moving from a community, shall notify all of his/her active patients in writing, or by publication once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the community, that he/she intends to discontinue his/her practice of medicine or osteopathic medicine in the community, and shall encourage his/her patients to seek the services of another practitioner., https://www.in.gov/pla/professions/medical-licensing-board-of-indiana/public-notices/practice-related-faqs/, Iowa Administrative Code 13.7(1) states, Termination of the physician-patient relationship. During your review, pay careful attention to information about advance notice provisions, retirement plan details and noncompete covenants, to name a few key elements. 1. Review all documents you have signed. You'll quickly notice that it's actually not a letter that talks about a physician leaving, rather it's a new doctor welcome letter. Drafting the Notification Letter . The provider might still face constraints in accessing patients addresses and other information. Prohibition Against Interference 165.5(c)(1-2)rules state that: Rarely do practices agree that patient charts are the property of the employed physician. A physician in a multi-physician practice is retiring or leaving the geographic practice area. The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) recently agreed to pay a $15,000 penalty for providing patient names, addresses, and diagnoses to a departing nurse practitioner (NP) without first obtaining authorization from those patients. Although the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of PHI, the NP disclosed the PHI to her new employer, GRN, without the patients authorization. A physician may diagnose, prescribe, and administer treatment to individuals suffering from injury or disease. The first example letter for notifying patients of a physician leaving their practice comes from Medical Center Clinic. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); What kind of notification should or do I have to give to patients if I am retiring, Hospitals are often growing, acquiring new facilities and systems to expand their reach and services. Physicians are generally required to notify patients directly through one or more channels . And 4) The state is completely silent on patient notification without any guidance available. According to TMB Rules Chapter 165.5(a)(1-3): When a physician retires, terminates employment, or otherwise leaves a medical practice, he or she is responsible for: (2) Notification shall be accomplished by: (A) EITHER: For instance, general advertisements, mailings to certain zip codes, and routine marketing activities normally would not meet this standard. 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. This creates a quandary because although you may need new employees, you do not want to appear to be soliciting from the existing practice. The office should also consider changing its answering message to alert patients State advises, the following requirements regarding closures must be met: each patient, resident, next of kin, physician and sponsor must be notified immediately upon receipt of the Department of Healths approval. The physician fails to give the patient at least 30 days notice in advance of the date on which the physicians withdrawal becomes effective. There is no specific time period required. The sign or notice shall advise the physicians patients of their opportunity and right to transfer or receive copies of their records. The practice should also provide a script for receptionists on what to say. 2, When requested, the practice should provide the departing physician with the contact information of his/her patients to ensure the departing physician is allowed to fulfill patient notification responsibilities, and to avoid TMB disciplinary sanctions for the remaining physicians and possible legal risk to the practice. 3. Notify the regulatory and business agencies impacted by your closure, including Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), health insurers, state medical or business associations, and state medical boards. Texas Medical Board Rules Chapter 165.5(a)(1-3) Transfer and Disposal of Medical Records. Texas Medical Board. The unique facts and circumstances related to a patients condition and care should be used to determine how much notice a patient should be given prior to the actual termination of the physician-patient relationship, and whether the physician should facilitate the transfer of care to another provider., Louisiana State Medical Society Guidelines The physician cannot abandon the patient. An example letter . At Cariend, [], When physicians retire or close their practice, there are many tasks to complete to ensure the process [], No matter the size or scope of their operations, hospitals and medical facilities are driven to reduce [], Hospital and medical facility managers recognize EMR systems as a necessary part of managing patient medical data. In any case, some of the most effective notification arrangements you can make include: As you look for notification guidance on the internet, carefully assess the credibility of the source for information. In March 2015, the NP was preparing to leave URMC for a position at Greater Rochester Neurology (GRN). 2. Review the practices established policies. For providers who form more continuous treatment relationships (e.g., surgeons providing post-operative care to a patient following a procedure), patient abandonment liability can be limited by furnishing notice of termination of the relationship. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Some require an extraordinarily long notice period (such as one year) before the physician can qualify for deferred compensation payments. Mustafa Kinaan has shown his dedication to the Central Florida community throughout his graduate medical education (GME) journey. By contrast, a non-solicitation provision prohibits the employee from soliciting the employers clients and personnel for other business or work opportunities. On the other hand, a notice directed to specific patients that informs them that the provider is leaving the employer's practice and identifies a new practice where the patient can receive the same or similar services is much closer to the line of solicitation. 8. A physician can perform acupuncture under his/her medical license as long as he/she is properly trained and educated in the field of acupuncture. Leaving a practice can be a stressful time in any physicians career. Call 713-524-4267, ext. We can help you assess your rights and responsibilities. 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. Regardless of the state you are in, best practice for physicians is to provide ample notice to their patients regarding changes in practice or closure. Who should provide the notice? Determine whether solicitation of employees is prohibited. Here are several keys to handling the transition appropriately. A physicians list of patient names by itself is not PHI, but if the physicians practice only serves patients with a certain health condition, then it may be reasonable to assume that every patient on the list must have the condition. If you are asking your partner to leave, you need to know the practices rights and obligations to him or her. The unique facts and circumstances related to a patients condition and care should be used to determine how much notice a patient should be given prior to the actual termination of the physician-patient relationship, and whether the physician should facilitate the transfer of care to another provider., While the KBHA does not make laws, this organization works closely with both bankruptcy courts and other official state resources, appearing as both a regulatory authority and an independent agency. https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/bme/Pages/FAQ.aspx, NMAC 16.10.17.9 states, Whenever possible, active patients and patients seen within the previous three years must be notified at least 30 days before closing, selling, relocating or leaving a practice. Perhaps youre already a party to a non-solicitation agreement, and youre wondering how it will affect your future opportunities. One in five physicians say it is likely they will leave their current practice within two years. [], Smart hospitals and medical facility managers already know how to capture savings in health information management by [], Hospitals and healthcare providers are aways looking for opportunities to increase savings. 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. According to the urologists former employer, such activities violated the non-compete. 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.
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