Relocating Your Practice and Patient NotificationPlanning to relocate your practice? We recently received a series of questions about this subject from one of our members and thought the answers were worth sharing. Here are the questions: "
I am relocating and setting up my own practice. Can I get copies of the medical records of the patients I have been treating? How do I notify my patients of my departure?"
Ideally, these questions should be addressed by your existing employment or partnership agreement. You would be well served by retaining experienced personal legal counsel to review the agreement to confirm compliance prior to any patient announcement.
It is estimated that 40 percent of newly practicing physicians choose to leave their initial practice within two years of joining a group. Many have been so anxious to start their first practice they have paid scant attention to what is involved in departure. If the present employment contract does not address specific physician departure issues, counsel can draft an "exit agreement."
Patient RecordsAccording to the California Medical Association, the
information contained in the medical records belongs to the patient, but the
physical records belong to the lawfully organized medical group, or if none, to the individual physician. Thus, where a partner physician is leaving a practice group,
in the absence of a specific agreement to the contrary, patient records should remain with the group.
However for any patient who chooses to follow the departing physician to the new practice, the individual physician should be provided access to and an opportunity to copy the records of the patient. Allowable copy charges for duplication of records may apply and may be addressed in the agreement.
Where a patient decides to stay with the group and does not authorize transfer of copies of the records, the group should permit the departing physician access to medical records if necessary to defend a claim or other proceeding involving the physician's care while a member of the group. The departing physician should ensure such 'reasonable purpose' access has been reduced to writing.
Patient NotificationOnce the contractual issues have been addressed, ensure that patients are properly notified in a timely and professional manner (one to three months). The letter should specify the date of departure and the patients' options regarding providers. It is good form to thank patients for the opportunity to care for them and assure them they are being left in good hands. Keep a copy of each written notice in the patient's chart, including any returned letters.
For a sample Practice Relocation Notice to Patient from the 2010 California Physician's Legal Handbook, click
here.
Authored by Georgia McCullough, RN, JD
CAP Risk Management & Patient Safety
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