Open Bar: Preparation in Advance of Retirement

Retirement may be looked at both with anticipation and, at times, sadness. Many professionals have practiced in their specialty for a long time and may be looking forward to making changes geographically and/or spending more time with family. Other times, retirement may be thrust upon you by illness or economic reasons.

Regardless of why you intend to retire, there are some important questions to consider.

1. Are you going to be selling your practice to another professional or are you just closing your doors?

2. Do you have a partner or another licensed professional who is interested in continuing the practice and caring for your patients?

3. Are you going to store your professional records with a record storage service, or do you intend to keep them for the required amount of time in a secure fire and flood-proof place?

It is very important that you address those questions well in advance of your anticipated retirement. Advanced planning will also benefit you in the event that retirement is brought on by sudden illness or death.

All patients should be notified within 60 or more days, optimally by letter, marked “personal and confidential.” The letter can be mailed by first class mail to the patient’s last known address, and a copy should be placed in the patient’s record. The termination date you choose may well depend on the reason for closure and can range from 2 to 6 months, to enable the patients to locate another provider. This will depend on geographical location and practitioner availability.

When the patient requests that the records be sent to a new provider (and provides a HIPAA-compliant authorization), only a copy of the original record should be sent containing the last few years of care.  If the patient requests that only a limited portion of the records be sent, this should be noted in the letter forwarding that portion of the records to the new provider. If you are in a practice which has other physicians, the records can usually remain in that practice, if these patients can be absorbed by the practice.  The physician, however, should not send the original record to the new provider, as the physician who is closing the practice is obligated to retain the original patient records for the recommended statutory periods of time.

In addition, if you are from a smaller rural geographical area ie Upstate NY, or many of your patients are not seen annually but every few years, advertisements of the closing of the practice can also be placed in local papers, if there are any in your area, in addition to sending letters. This type of notification can sometimes reach people who have moved and not left a forwarding address.  The patients must be told how to obtain a copy of their records, so they can provide them to their new provider. If there are other physicians in the practice willing and able to accept the patients of the retiring physician, the patients can be told to contact the office for an appointment with them.  A termination date must be based upon the nature of the patients’ condition and the availability of another provider in that geographical area. The patient can also contact his insurer or professional society, dental or medical, for that information.

 It is very important to tell patients not to use your name, when seeking any kind of radiological study or laboratory test results after your retirement. No test results or reports from other professionals are to be sent to your office after closure, and the patients should be made aware of that. If another professional is maintaining your records for you, that person must agree to maintain them for the required time periods. The period for retention of records also depends upon the age of the patient (under 18) and whether the patient has undergone continuous treatment without a gap, in the treatment of a specific condition.

Finally, you must notify MLMIC’s underwriting department in writing of the termination date of your practice. They can assist you with coverage questions. For MLMIC insureds interested in additional information on retirement, please reach out to the MLMIC legal department for a memo addressing considerations for retirement.

MLMIC policyholders can reach out to our healthcare attorneys for questions about retirement by calling (800) 275-6564 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. or by email here.

Our 24/7 hotline is also available for urgent matters after hours at (844) 667-5291 or by emailing hotline@tmglawny.com.

Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter to stay in the loop about the medical professional liability industry. 

If you are not already a MLMIC insured, learn more about us here.

This document is for general purposes only and should not be construed as medical or legal advice. This document is not comprehensive and does not cover all possible factual circumstances. Because the facts applicable to your situation may vary, or the laws applicable in your jurisdiction may differ, please contact your attorney or other professional advisors for any questions related to legal, medical or professional obligations, the applicable state or federal laws or other professional questions.