First, ensure proper notice is provided to patients as well as all interested governmental entities and other organizations. In our experience at Jackson LLP, rarely are any two non-solicitation clauses alike. It is, however, not uncommon for employees to solicit the departing physician prior to 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. Employment contracts usually reinforce this notion. Approximately sixty days prior to closure, patients who require frequent follow up should be referred to other physicians and patients with acute medical problems should have appropriate follow up arranged., https://www.maine.gov/md/sites/maine.gov.md/files/inline-files/2017summer_0.pdf, State advises, adequate time must be given to allow the patient to obtain a new practitioner. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6140270/, Additional Resources: The Missouri State Medical Association offers, Be sure to notify your patients regarding your retirement. 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. All Rights Reserved. https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=6676, The Vermont Guide to Healthcare Law by the Vermont Medical Society advises, In order to avoid a claim of abandonment, the physician should take several steps to terminate the physician-patient relationship. 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. Texas Medical Board. 6. 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. Many physicians believe these covenants will not be enforced; however, the courts in most states will uphold them if they are reasonable. Except in cases of death or other incapacity of the practitioner, practitioners may not abandon a patient or abruptly withdraw from the care of a patient. Are you a healthcare provider considering a new employment agreement with a non-solicitation clause? 115(4): 325327 advises, practices must notify patients as soon as possible to facilitate continued patient care. Leaving a practice can be a stressful time in any physicians career. All rights reserved, Prohibition Against Interference 165.5(c)(1-2). Here are several keys to handling the transition appropriately. A clean departure will save you headaches and possibly dollars in the immediate future and in the long run. This notice shall be no less than two columns wide and no less than two inches in height. It is critical that you understand what you have promised to do and what has been promised to you via these documents. 1, Required notification of discontinuation of practice. Yes. It is the position of the Washington State Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (Board) that transition from a medical practice is done with a minimum of disruption to the patient. When an osteopathic physician leaves a group practice, the patients of that physician must be notified., https://www.doh.wa.gov/portals/1/Documents/2300/RetentionOfMedicalRecords_And_PatientNotification.pdf, State advises, When a medical practice closure timetable allows, physicians should engage in a conscious and methodical winding down of a medical practice. Your careful attention to these details will ensure a smooth transition to a new practice. The physician must notify the TMB and his/her patients, and advise who has custodianship of the medical records and how a copy may be obtained. Likewise, physicians often agree to pay for tail coverage if they terminate their employment without cause. 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. Further, many retirement plans have vesting schedules that depend on the number of years one has worked with the employer. 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. Its an important aspect of [], At Cariend, we understand the challenges faced by healthcare facilities in transition. Indeed, this may be especially appropriate when the employment agreement defines patients treated by the employee as the employers. For sound guidance on regulations and requirements, retiring physicians can call the KBHA at (785) 296-7413. 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. Once a decision has been made to discharge a patient from the p ractice, the practice will need to notify the patient of the termination in writing. It must protect the patients medical record and not release it without patient authorization. For many providers, mitigating the risk of patient abandonment requires formally ending the patient-provider relationship and providing information about how to receive the same or similar services. Notice to Patients. If you had signed a non-compete, you would refer them to the other providers in your practice. 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 . 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. Can a health care practitioner terminate a patient relationship? This must be done by placing a notice in a daily local newspaper published in the community which is the prime locus of the practice. For example, you would not want to plan your departure during a week in which you are anticipating five deliveries. Meanwhile, about one in three doctors and other health professionals say they intend to reduce work hours in the next 12 months, according to recently published survey research. 2) The state offers guidelines, but without any statutory requirements or law enforcing notification practices. In this way, the provider might avoid claims of patient abandonment. The answer is yes. A notice in an email in a manner compliant with state . See the bottom of this page for a state-by-state comparison of the available guidelines. 4. Review advance notice provisions. 2. Yes. Health care entities must be prepared for the departure of physicians and other health care professionals. How long must a healthcare practitioner maintain a patients records? (2). Below we share both guidance from the State Board of Medical Examiners and information available from the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) indicating regulatory penalties that could be assigned for not ensuring patient access to records. Drafting the Notification Letter . This is done so patients cannot sue for abandonment. To avoid charges of abandonment, youll need to send a letter to active patients., https://www.llr.sc.gov/med/Policies/ClosingOffice.pdf, South Dakota Codified Law (SDCL) 44:04:09:11 states, At least 30 days before closure, the health care facility must notify the department in writing indicating the provisions for the safe preservation of medical or care records and their location and publish in a local newspaper the location and disposition arrangements of the medical or care records., https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Rules/Archived/1540.pdf, Texas Administrative Code Rule 190.8 22:9:190: b states, Practice Inconsistent with Public Health and Welfare. If you are responsible for tail coverage, you may be able to negotiate with your new practice to provide you with sufficient funds to purchase it. https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/adult_care/dear_administrator_letters/acf_closure_guidelines.htm, The North Carolina Medical Society advises, practitioners and other parties that may be involved to ensure that: patients are notified of changes in the practice, sufficiently far in advance (at least 30 days) to allow other medical care to be secured, which is often done by newspaper advertisement and by letters to patients currently under care (Sample letter Attachment A); patients clearly understand that the choice of a health care provider is the patients; patients are told how to reach any practitioner(s) remaining in practice, and when specifically requested, are told how to contact departing practitioners; and patients are told how to obtain copies of or transfer their medical records., https://www.ncmedsoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Closing-a-Medical-Practice.pdf, Rule 4731-27-03 states, When () a health care entity provides to patients a notice of the termination of a physicians employment, the notice shall be provided in one of the following ways: (1) A letter sent via regular mail to the last address for the patient on record, with the date of mailing of the letter documented; (2) An electronic message sent via a HIPAA compliant electronic medical record system or HIPAA compliant electronic health record system that provides a means of electronic communication between the health care entity and the patient and is capable of sending the patient a notification that a message has been received and is in the patients portal., https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-4731-27-03, State advises, Whenever a physician is leaving or has left practice and the actual office is being closed, several different methods of patient notification can be used. 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. Therefore, patients should be given reasonable advance notice to allow their securing other care. A non-solicitation provision is usually triggered only by an action. 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. Should patients be notified of the physicians departure? 3. Contact information that enables the patient to obtaininformation on the patient's medical records. No. 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. URMC responded by sending breach notification letters to the affected patients and notifying the media. http://www.nmms.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/closing_your_practice_2016_revised_-_pcs_0.pdf. Notifying Patients of a Doctor's Retirement You may have observed that communicating with your patients about your leaving is essential in each of the processes we covered above. 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. Section 5-5: If a licensee ceases to engage in practice: Publish a notice and the established procedure for the obtaining of records in a newspaper of general circulation at least once a month for the first three months after the practice closes and forward a copy to the Board. Voice mail systems can also be modified to provide new contact information after the physician has departed. All rights reserved. The analysis will always depend on the particular circumstances involved. If youre in one of the states where we practice, schedule a complimentary phone consultation with one of Jackson LLPs healthcare attorneys. However, it at least informs the patients that the provider is not responsible for their further care. The notice must include an explanation of how copies of the facilitys records may be accessed by patients. Examples include social media pages, website banners, email, or even utilizing the practices existing patientportal. This will most likely include an employment agreement, a shareholders agreement (if the practice is a corporation) or an operating agreement (if the practice is a limited liability company) and, in some cases, a deferred compensation arrangement. If you would like to learn how Lexology can drive your content marketing strategy forward, please email [emailprotected]. Harris County Medical Society. Apply Renew Maintain Practice Information 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. 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. Non-solicitation clauses are a type of restrictive covenant (meaning legally that they forbid a party from doing something). This creates a quandary because although you may need new employees, you do not want to appear to be soliciting from the existing practice. Who should provide the notice? These functions included taking phone calls from existing patients with treatment-related questions. According to the urologists former employer, such activities violated the non-compete. Copyright 2005 by the American Academy of Family Physicians. workforce on policies and procedures related to PHI and notify the Attorney General of future breaches. A non-solicitation clause only prohibits solicitation. Chiropractors are licensed and regulated by the Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine. The FMA also . Texas Medical Board Rules Chapter 165.5(c)(1-2) Prohibition Against Interference. According to Rule 64B8-10.002(3), FAC : A licensed physician shall keep adequate written medical records, as required by Section 458.331(1)(m), Florida Statutes, for a period of at least five years from the last patient contact; however, medical malpractice law requires records to be kept for at least seven years. In this situation, the provider might not be precluded from soliciting that practices patients for services at the medical spa. This should be posted in your office well in advance of your official retirement. Copyright 2023 American Academy of Family Physicians. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Each state treats notification guidance differently, but their approach generally falls within four distinct categories. Notify other patients who won't be receiving a letter by placing a notice in the local newspaper with the largest circulation, putting a sign up in the lobby and preparing a patient handout. Supreme Court Decision Impacts FLSAs Overtime Rules, Update on San Franciscos Treatment of Vacant Properties, 2023 Filing Requirements and Contribution Limits for California Major Donors, Checklist: Processor due diligence (data protection and cybersecurity) (UK), Checklist: Obtaining and managing consent under the GDPR (UK), Checklist: Assessing whether an organisation is a controller or processor under the GDPR (UK), Notice to the patient that the physician will no longer be practicing medicine at the health care entity, The date the physician ceased or will cease to provide medicine services at the health care entity, If the physician will be practicing medicine in another location,contact information for the physician subsequent to leaving the health care entity, Contact information for an alternative physician or physiciansemployed by the health care entity or contact information for a group practice that can provide care for the patient. Can I take a copy of my patients records with me, in case they need care from me in the future. The notice may be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the health care facility is located. 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. 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., Health care entities must be prepared for the departure of physicians and other health care professionals. Contrary to common conception, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act(HIPAA) and similar state laws do not entitle providers to access or copies of their employers patient information and records.