What to Do When Your Physician Dismisses You as a Patient

Finding out your doctor can no longer see you is a jarring experience that can leave you feeling dismissed and anxious about your health. 

In this episode of Take Care, host Melody Mulaik demystifies the process of "physician dismissal." You’ll learn why this happens, what legal protections you have against patient abandonment, and most importantly, the immediate steps you need to take to ensure your care isn't interrupted.

In this episode, Melody discusses:

• [00:45] The Hard Truth: Can a doctor really "fire" a patient?
• [01:10] Understanding Patient Abandonment: Why they can’t just stop caring for you without notice.
• [02:00] The Notice Period: What to look for in your formal written communication.
• [03:00] The Action Plan: Securing medical records and ensuring you have access to prescriptions.
• [04:00] Finding Your New Provider: Resources, insurance tips, and referral advice.
• [04:45] Your Rights: When and how to contact your state medical board.

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Transcript

Melody 0:12

Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of Take Care. Becky writes and says, my doctor just told me I can no longer be their patient and I feel completely lost. What am I supposed to do now? That's a very frustrating and can be a little bit scary scenario. Becky, I'm sorry that you're going through that. I know the initial question is can a doctor really do that? Can a doctor really fire a patient? And the short answer is yes, they can. Just like a patient can choose to no longer see a doctor. A doctor technically can choose to no longer see a patient. Now, that said, there's some rules and regulations that go along with that, and it's important that we understand what those are. There's a variety of different reasons it can happen. I would say out of the gate, I wouldn't focus on why it happened, but what the next steps are. It's important to keep in mind that being dismissed from a physician is not a judgment of your worth. It's not always personal. There's a lot of things that go into it. I will just add. I mean, It could be because of insurance company changes. Usually, they'll tell you why but technically, they don't have to give you the specific reason as to why with it. But it's important to know that they can't just stop caring for you without notice. So, if they did, that would meet a definition of something called patient abandonment, which they're not allowed to do. Now, there are some different laws and things at the state level that come into play. So, I'm going to focus on things just from a general overall standpoint, but it's important that anyone going through this situation. Do a little research at the state level as well, just to see if there's other things that are required in your particular state. So, the first thing you want to do if this happens to you is don't panic. I know that's easier said than done. But don't panic and read the notice carefully that they send to you. So, they might send you an email, hopefully they send you some sort of letter or an email to go with it. It's not just a text. There could be something in a portal. But generally, you're going to get a formal communication, that's going to be, again, either an email or a letter, or maybe both. Because they are required to give you written notice. No one should just be calling you from a physician's office and just saying, oh, by the way, I am canceling your appointment. We're no longer going to see you. They need to give you written notice. And they are supposed to give you continued care for a transition time period. Now, usually it's going to be at least 30 days. And this is where the state may require a longer time period. But generally, as is a good rule of thumb, it's going to be at least 30 days that they're required to give you that transition care. They're also supposed to offer information on how to find another provider in that particular specialty. So again, it's not supposed to feel like you've just been dumped and there's no place else to go. They're also supposed to make sure that you have access to your prescriptions and your medical records during that transition period. So, again, it's really important if this happens to you, take action immediately so that you don't have a lapse in your medications. And so you can get your medical records so that you can quickly get with another provider as you need it. The first thing you want to do is request a copy of your medical records. You have rights to the copies and you want to have those sent to a new provider. Identify new provider as quickly as possible. Get copies of those medical records sent over to that new provider so you don't lose any care as you're making this particular transition. Again, it's always your right to have access to your medical records. Again, you want to look at are you in the process of having any type of treatments? Is there any particular medication that you're taking? Look at when those renewals are due and all those things to make sure that you're not in a situation where you run out of medication and you have some other issues that come up because of that. Finding your new provider, you may find it's helpful to go to your insurance company's website to see who is covered under your plan. That's one place to start. You may want to ask them also the physician that you're no longer working with, if they have any referrals. Again, back to talking to friends, finding other people who can help you find another good provider as well. So again, don't hesitate in that regard you want to quickly find that. And then, I hate to bring it up, but I feel like I have to. If you're ever in a situation where you feel that things have not been handled correctly. You feel that you got no notice, no information. The physician's group that no longer is working with you has not done an appropriate job of making sure that you get your medical records, that you don't lose continuity of care with your prescriptions. You can contact your state medical board to let them know of what has happened. So unfortunately, there are some times when somebody may not behave in the way that they should. And it is important for that to be called out so that there's an awareness of it. Hopefully, that doesn't happen to you. Just because you lose care with a particular physician doesn't mean you've lost your right to care. Doesn't mean you don't have access to your medical record, it just means you're going through a particular disruption. It can happen, and unfortunately it does happen from time to time. So, if you find yourself in that situation, make sure you read that letter, understand your timelines, and take action quickly. So that you can continue to get the care that you need. Thanks for listening to this episode. Until next time take care.