Terminating a physician-patient relationship is fraught with dangers that can land you in serious legal and financial hot water.
When you “fire” a patient, they can easily feel neglected, discarded and discriminated against.
This is what typically drives a patient to accuse you of patient abandonment. And if this happens, you can count on ending up in a legal and financial nightmare you want NO part of.
However, if you know how, you can end a patient relationship without the worry of being accused of wrongdoing or the stress and expense of defending your actions in court.
The answer is to follow a specific step-by-step patient relationship termination policy, and this is where healthcare attorney and educator, Heidi Kocher, BS, MBA, JD, CHC, can help.
How to Avoid Patient Abandonment Accusations:
During her 60-minute online training session, Heidi will walk you through the precise steps you must employ to avoid being accused of patient abandonment when you end a relationship.
Here are just a few of the protection strategies you’ll receive by attending this , 60-minute online training session:
- Avoid discrimination charges from protected patient classes
- Defend against “reasonable notice” mistakes that are sure to land you in court
- Identify specific times you should NEVER stop seeing a patient unless you want to get sued
- Stop non-compliant patients from landing you in court, with a few, simple process changes
- Implement documentation and witness strategies to bulletproof your termination decision
- Avoid innocently re-establishing a patient relationship, and starting all over again
- Uncover how pregnant patients can cause unique problems, and how to avoid them
- Safely refuse treatment due to a conflict of interest
- Write a termination notice letter that protects you against licensing board actions
- Proven patient termination policy verbiage to stop you from being accused of favoritism
- And so much more….
At some point, regardless of your specialty or the size of your practice, you’ll be faced with having to terminate a patient relationship. When this occurs, the only way to protect yourself from litigation is to implement, master, and follow a patient relationship termination policy that includes your specific state guidelines.
Don’t risk exposing yourself to significant legal, financial and emotional distress when it comes to “firing” a patient.
Protect yourself from patient abandonment accusations, by signing up for this must-attend online training today.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Typically, there are two main reasons that may drive you to terminate a patient relationship:
- Undesirable Patient/Guardian Behavior. Abusive, disruptive or violent actions, repeatedly missed appointments, treatment plan noncompliance, refusal to pay for the medical services, drug seeking, etc.
- Availability: You’re moving, retiring, closing your practice, leaving a specific insurance network, etc.
If you believe even one of the above reasons could be true for your practice now or in the future, then you should most certainly register for this upcoming, attorney-led online training.
BONUS: As an added bonus, you will receive a sample Patient Termination Letter with your webinar registration. |
Heidi has 20 years of experience in health care legal and compliance related issues. Her experience includes positions at a large hospital corporation, serving as a compliance officer for a sleep lab/DME company and a compliance director, chief privacy officer and interim chief compliance officer at a medical device manufacturer.
In addition, she has represented and advised critical access and long-term care hospitals, physician groups, home health agencies, DME companies, pharmacies (including compounding pharmacies), non-profit organizations, and licensed individuals. As a result, she understands the complexities and challenges that providers large and small face in complying with increasingly varied and complex laws.
She is an expert in all aspects of compliance and privacy programs, including developing and deploying policies, procedures and training. Her experience includes implementing the various requirements and aspects of a Corporate Integrity Agreement, responding to and defending audits from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers up through the ALJ level, guiding clients through voluntary self-disclosures, seeking advisory opinions from the OIG, and defending FDA audits.
Heidi developed criteria for and implemented an aggregate spend system, permitting a medical device manufacturer to timely report correct information under the Physician Open Payments Acts (also known as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act).
In addition, she is experienced in developing and implementing a compliance program to address Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requirements, including Eucomed guidelines. She also has significant reimbursement experience, addressing coverage policy issues, challenging denials, recoupments, and loss of billing privileges, obtaining HCPCS codes, and other reimbursement related issues.
The webinar was appropriate and informative.
Nancy Funt
, Lourdes Noreen McKeen
The webinar was well prepared for!
Abhishek Tomar
Ambulatory Clinical Quality Officer, Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center
