When Claudia Siegel had gastroenteritis earlier this year, she called her doctor to prescribe medicine to relieve diarrhea. The Philadelphia resident was surprised to receive her message online informing her that she was no longer a patient because she had not seen a doctor in over three years.
And since he wasn’t taking new patients, she had to find a new family doctor.
“I don’t think that’s conscientious,” Siegel said, noting that many patients may have left clinics in recent years because of the coronavirus pandemic. . “There was no notice to the patient that they were on the verge of losing their doctor.”
It’s disappointing to find out that you’ve been removed from a doctor’s practice because it’s been years since your last visit, but this approach is not uncommon. Hmm. But professionals do this too.
The argument for dropping the occasional patient makes some sense. Many primary care physicians have waiting lists of prospective patients, so removing infrequently seen patients opens up patient slots and improves access to other physicians.
Russell Phillips, Ph.D., Director of Primary Care Center at Harvard Medical School and General Physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said:
“Continuity of care is important, but it’s hard to make room for patients when they’re not in the hospital and you don’t know if they’ll come,” he said.
When insurance changes, patients often move or find another doctor without notifying the clinic, experts say. Additionally, doctors may try to classify a long-lost person as a new patient, as it may take longer to update their medical, family, and social histories after a long absence. A patient’s status is her one of the factors that determines the amount of a doctor’s remuneration.
Still, transitions can be challenging for patients.
“I can totally understand the patient’s point of view.” .”
Ms Siegel said she rarely went to the doctor and followed her father’s advice, who is a doctor, not to go to a doctor unless she was sick. Although she has not been to her clinic in person recently, she has been in contact with staff at her clinic, including keeping her updated on her COVID-19 vaccination status. .
After receiving the termination notice online through the Jefferson Health System patient portal, Siegel called the family medicine patient line directly. They told her that three years was the protocol and she had to comply.
“I asked, ‘How’s the patient?'” says Siegel. “They didn’t have an answer for that.”
It took Siegel, who is covered by Medicare’s traditional paid services program, a month to see a doctor who accepts new patients. By that time, her stomach virus symptoms had cleared.
A statement from spokesperson Damien Woods said Jefferson Health does not have a policy of losing doctors if patients do not see them regularly.
However, he notes, “Patients who have not been seen by a provider for more than three years are classified as new patients (rather than established patients) in electronic medical records, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance.” Whenever possible, Jefferson will work with these patients to maintain their primary care provider and offer new provider options in certain circumstances.”
The American Medical Association’s ethical guidelines recommend that if a patient withdraws treatment, the doctor should notify the patient in advance so that the patient has time to seek another doctor.
But organizations that represent physicians don’t have guidance for maintaining patient panels, said AMA spokesperson Robert Mills.
The American College of Family Medicine, which represents and advocates for family physicians, declined to comment on the story.
A primary care physician’s patient panel typically includes patients seen in the past two years, says Phillips of Harvard University. The doctor said he could have more than 2,000 patients, studies show. Maintaining a viable number of patients is critical for both effective patient care and physicians.
“Practice recognizes that a major cause of physician burnout is having too many patients to handle,” says Phillips.
Demand for physician services is expected to outstrip supply in the coming decades as more and more physicians retire at the same time that people are aging and needing more care. The Association of Medical Colleges of America predicts that by 2034 there will be a shortfall of up to 48,000 primary care physicians.
Maintaining regular relationships with primary care providers helps people manage chronic illnesses and quickly identify new problems. Regular check-ins also help ensure people get essential routine services like immunizations and blood pressure checks, said former primary care physician and president of the Commonwealth Fund, a research and policy organization. He said Dr. David Blumenthal.
Healthcare organizations are increasingly focused on requiring physicians to meet specific quality standards, such as managing hypertension in their patients or providing comprehensive diabetes care. In such an environment, “it can be problematic for a doctor to take responsibility for the health of an unmedicated patient,” he said Blumenthal.
That includes money. Regular visits help the clinic’s bottom line. Clinics avoid new Medicare patients or those with certain types of insurance because they pay too little, said Owen Dahl, a consultant with the Medical Group Management Association, an organization of medical administrators. may also decide.
In general, doctors are under no obligation to continue to see patients. Physicians may terminate patients for reasons such as patients not following clinical recommendations or regularly canceling or missing appointments. Aggressive or abusive behavior is also grounds for dropping a patient.
In some cases, doctors can be held legally responsible for “patient abandonment,” a form of medical malpractice. State regulations vary, but there are common elements. These rules generally apply when a doctor harms a patient by suddenly dropping him or her at a critical stage of treatment. Usually not applicable if the patient has not seen a doctor in several years.
Quietly dropping off a rarely seen patient won’t yield immediate medical results, but the patient should be notified, experts say.
“It’s really good customer service to explain the situation,” said Rick Gundling, senior vice president of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, an organization of financial professionals. As for Siegel, “Don’t keep this woman hanging. If you’re a patient, your doctor should be proactive.”
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues. KHN is one of the three main operating programs of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), along with policy analysis and polls. KFF is a donated non-profit organization that provides information on health issues to the public.
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KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues. KHN is one of the three main operating programs of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), along with policy analysis and polls. KFF is a donated non-profit organization that provides information on health issues to the public.
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