Page 24 - Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

SVMIC Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

payor that prohibits termination except under certain specified

conditions. Even when those conditions exist, the contract may
outline the procedure for terminating the patient beyond the

normal procedures for termination. Finally, the physician must

give appropriate notice to the patient to avoid an
abandonment claim. Unilaterally terminating a relationship

with a patient without proper notice may result in civil liability
(malpractice) or disciplinary action by the State Licensure

Board. To avoid an abandonment claim, any acute medical

conditions should be resolved or stabilized, and the patient
should be prescribed with at least a 30-day supply of any

medications he or she may be taking. A copy of the patient’s
medical record should be made available. Remember, you

cannot hold the patient’s record hostage until they pay their

bill. When considering terminating a relationship with a
patient, the focus should be on the medical needs of the

patient.

The reason proper termination is important in the duty context
is that often physicians, when they do not see a patient for an

extended period of time, consider the patient to no longer be a

patient. Patients, on the other hand, don’t think the same way.
They can often go years without seeing a physician, yet when

they are asked who their family doctor is, will give the name of
the last physician they saw. This often happens in the

emergency department setting when a patient gives a doctor’s
name and the ED physician at the time of discharge refers the

patient back to the general practitioner he identified. Does the

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