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 the clinic in the past few years because of the pandemic. “There was no notice to the patient that they were on the verge of losing their doctor.”
Experts say people should check to see if they’re still a doctor’s patient when the open coverage period begins when people can get health insurance.
It’s disappointing to learn that you’ve been removed from a doctor’s practice because it’s been a few years since your last visit, but that 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, 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.
A difficult transition to a new doctor
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 factor in determining how much a doctor is paid.
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 had not been to her clinic in person recently, Siegel communicated with her clinical staff, including providing updates on her coronavirus vaccination status, she said. I was.
After receiving the termination notice online through the Jefferson Health System patient portal, Siegel called the family medicine patient line directly. They told her 3 years was the protocol and she had to follow it.
“I asked, ‘How’s the patient?'” Shigeru said. “They didn’t have an answer for that.”
It took Siegel, who is enrolled in Medicare’s traditional paid services program, a month before seeing a doctor accepting new patients. By that time, her stomach virus symptoms had cleared.
Jefferson Health does not have a policy of losing a doctor if a patient does not see them regularly, according to a statement from spokeswoman Damien Woods.
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 keep them at their primary care provider and offer new provider options in certain circumstances.”
The American Medical Association’s ethical guidelines recommend that physicians notify patients before they stop treatment so that patients have time to find another physician.
But organizations that represent physicians don’t have guidance for maintaining a panel of patients, said AMA spokesman Robert Mills.
The American College of Family Medicine, which represents and advocates for family physicians, declined to comment on the story.
Demand for services expected to increase
According to Phillips of Harvard University, primary care physicians’ patient panels typically include patients who have seen them in the past two years. Studies show that the doctor may have more than 2,000 patients. Maintaining a viable number of patients is critical for both effective patient care and physicians.
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 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 that 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 says 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.
In general, doctors are under no obligation to continue to see a particular patient. 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.”
This article is Kaiser Health News, A program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides information on health issues to the public.
