How to Dismiss a Patient From a Medical Practice

The doctor-patient relationship is at the center of a good medical practice. In ideal situations, doctors can provide emotional support and work together with their patients to create a treatment plan. Unfortunately, situations do arise where patients' behavior strains staff at a physician's office or patients represent a financial drain on the office. The Journal of General Internal Medicine reports that 96 percent of physicians do consider dismissing patients for these reasons, but these physicians must provide appropriate documentation and tread carefully in order to avoid a lawsuit.

Instructions

• 1

  Select very specific criteria for patient dismissal, put a policy in writing and, if possible, give this information to every patient who enters your practice. For example, you may decide to dismiss any patient who owes more than $1,000 from your practice and refuses to work out a payment plan. Make sure that your criteria can be objectively applied to any and every patient.

• 2

  Use your written policy to decide if you have legitimate reasons to dismiss a patient. The Journal of Family Physicians suggests having specific reasons to dismiss a patient if they refuse to pay or set up a payment plan, chronically miss appointments, or verbally abuse and threaten staff. If a patient displays none of these behaviors and does not violate any of the terms of the policy, the patient may be difficult, but there are probably no legitimate grounds for dismissal.

• 3

  Enforce your policy across the board. Do not dismiss one patient for owing $1,000 to the practice while allowing others with similar debts to stay. Discriminating against certain patients (or even appearing to discriminate) can lead to a lawsuit.

• 4

  Send your patient a letter by certified mail with a return receipt informing him of his termination from your practice. List the reasons for the dismissal, and include dates of bad behavior, noncompliance or missed appointments. Documenting reasons leading to the dismissal and ensuring that your patient is aware of these reasons lower the probability that a disgruntled former patient will sue you.

• 5

  Refer your patient to another doctor, hospital or practice, and transfer his medical records to this new medical facility. Failure to do so can lead to a lawsuit on the grounds of patient abandonment. Your job as a physician is to dismiss your patient while ensuring that he still gets the necessary medical care elsewhere. You may need to provide care for your patient while he is in the process of finding another doctor.