“Can Medical Justice solve my problem?” Click here to review recent consultations…
all. Here’s a sample of typical recent consultation discussions…- Former employee stole patient list. Now a competitor…
- Patient suing doctor in small claims court…
- Just received board complaint…
- Allegations of sexual harassment by employee…
- Patient filed police complaint doctor inappropriately touched her…
- DEA showed up to my office…
- Patient “extorting” me. “Pay me or I’ll slam you online.”
- My carrier wants me to settle. My case is fully defensible…
- My patient is demanding an unwarranted refund…
- How do I safely terminate doctor-patient relationship?
- How to avoid reporting to Data Bank…
- I want my day in court. But don’t want to risk my nest egg…
- Hospital wants to fire me…
- Sham peer review inappropriately limiting privileges…
- Can I safely use stem cells in my practice?
- Patient’s results are not what was expected…
- Just received request for medical records from an attorney…
- Just received notice of intent to sue…
- Just received summons for meritless case…
- Safely responding to negative online reviews…
Sometimes, the doctor-patient relationship sours. It’s more than someone just having a bad day. The magic is gone. It’s time to part ways.
We’ve discussed how to do that before.
What happens when you take care of a family, for example, a husband and wife? How is that managed?
We’ll address the simplest scenario first.
Here, both husband and wife are difficult. They are both yelling, screaming, cursing, and being disrespectful to staff. Each spouse’s behavior is indistinguishable from the other. Here, they both would get termination letters. As I said, that’s the easy case.
Now the more challenging situation.
Here, the husband is being rude, disruptive, and disrespectful. The wife is pleasant and friendly. She complies with the treatment plan and is appreciative. It seems unfair to punish the wife for the sins of her husband. Nonetheless, they may be a “package deal.” Meaning that taking care of the wife may still force you to interact with the husband, even if he is no longer a patient.
If you are inclined to give the wife a chance and see how it goes, the following language illustrates how to potentially proceed.
“As you know, we have cared for you since XXX. You still have the following steps that are recommended in your treatment care plan (X, Y, Z…). We can continue on that road with you. Or you can receive similar treatment with another practice. We do have one stipulation, though. Your husband has spoken for you on multiple occasions. Several times, he has been abusive and disrespectful to our staff. If you are to continue being treated by us, your husband cannot participate in any of our communications. We recognize that may be challenging for you. And if this is not workable, you can receive follow-up care with another practice. If so, please let us know to whom we can send your records. Once you sign an authorization form (see enclosed) to do so, we would instruct our office to send the records to the practice of your choice as soon as possible. As we opened, we are happy continuing caring for you. But you will have to speak for yourself. Please let us know how you want to proceed.”
I used “rude husband – nice wife” just as an example to illustrate. Men and women are equal opportunity offenders. There are plenty of examples of “nice husband – rude wife.”
Finally, are there any HIPAA considerations?
Maybe.
In the example above, I’m assuming both husband and wife are aware of each other’s relationship with the practice. And they may even have signed HIPAA authorizations to allow the practice to speak with the other family member. In the example above, the letters do not disclose any protected health information – or acknowledge that the other family member is even a patient.
What if either spouse is unaware the other is seeing the same physician? You want to fire one spouse as a patient and not the other. In that case, keep it simple. Just send a termination letter to the challenging spouse.
Still, even when you hope you can hang on to the one spouse as a patient, it will be challenging. Most families will make a unified decision and just move on.
What do you think?
Medical Justice provides consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. We also provide counsel specific to COVID-19. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a consultation – or use the tool shared below.“Can Medical Justice solve my problem?” Click here to review recent consultations…
all. Here’s a sample of typical recent consultation discussions…- Former employee stole patient list. Now a competitor…
- Patient suing doctor in small claims court…
- Just received board complaint…
- Allegations of sexual harassment by employee…
- Patient filed police complaint doctor inappropriately touched her…
- DEA showed up to my office…
- Patient “extorting” me. “Pay me or I’ll slam you online.”
- My carrier wants me to settle. My case is fully defensible…
- My patient is demanding an unwarranted refund…
- How do I safely terminate doctor-patient relationship?
- How to avoid reporting to Data Bank…
- I want my day in court. But don’t want to risk my nest egg…
- Hospital wants to fire me…
- Sham peer review inappropriately limiting privileges…
- Can I safely use stem cells in my practice?
- Patient’s results are not what was expected…
- Just received request for medical records from an attorney…
- Just received notice of intent to sue…
- Just received summons for meritless case…
- Safely responding to negative online reviews…
I think your response is way too lengthy. I would simply say that we don’t feel that you are a good fit with our practice and give them the customary 30 days notice to find another physician. Any more language then that opens you up to back and forth discussions. If they ask why, just say you don’t think it is a good fit any longer. Train your staff to say nothing more then that.
What if it’s a patient with multiple personalities?
Can you terminate the relationship with just one?