Terminating the Doctor-Patient Relationship

To participate in this CME activity: (1) review the information on this page which includes the learning objectives and faculty disclosures; (2) read the course pages; (3) complete the exam; (4) view/print certificate.

 Course Information

General Information

• If you need to stop in the middle of a course, you may return to the course at anytime to finish.
• When you have finished reading the course pages click on CME Exam in the Course Sections box (top right).
• To begin this CME activity, read through the information on this page and then click on the Start Course button.

Course Overview

A physician has both an ethical and legal obligation to provide services to his or her patients. If they do not end the relationship properly, the physician could be liable for a claim of patient abandonment. The American Medical Association (AMA), defines abandonment as "the termination of a professional relationship between physician and patient at an unreasonable time and without giving the patient the chance to find an equally qualified replacement." This CME activity explores under what conditions a physician may terminate his or her relationship with a patient and actions that may reduce liability.

The Legal Advisor publication is issued quarterly by the Massachusetts Medical Society and Adler, Cohen, Harvey, Wakeman & Guekguezian, LLP, as an information source. Nothing herein should be construed as legal advice or legal opinions regarding specific situations. Legal counsel should be consulted for application of law and regulations in each individual case before any action is taken or any decision is made.

Legal Advisor: Terminating the Doctor-Patient Relationship is sponsored by the Massachusetts Medical Society.For more information on the Massachusetts Medical Society go to www.massmed.org.

For more information on Adler, Cohen, Harvey, Wakeman & Guekguezian, LLP  go to www.adlercohen.com.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for physicians and allied health professionals.

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Course Objectives

• Cite situations that warrant termination of the doctor-patient relationship.
• List specific information that should be communicated to the patient prior to termination.
• Explore potential patient-termination scenarios which require additional steps to terminate the relationship properly.
  

Course Credit

Deadline for completing the course is September 20, 2012.

The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This program meets the criteria of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for risk management study.

Participants will receive a confidential report of their examination score. You must receive a score of 70% or better to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.  A confirmation of credit will be issued at the end of the course to those who successfully complete the examination.

The Massachusetts Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

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Course Fees

Legal Advisor: Terminating the Doctor-Patient Relationship and all associated course materials are available free of charge. An opportunity to complete an exam and receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for a nominal fee is available at the end of the course. The course fees are as follows:

Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Member: $10 ($10 per credit)

Non-MMS member: $20 ($20 per credit)

Disclosure/Commercial Support

The following course content developers have no financial interests or relationships to disclose.

William Frank, J.D., Assistant Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, MMS
Kathleen Bellisle, Manager of MMS Distance Learning
Thelma Tatten, Program Coordinator, MMS Distance Learning

Off-label Disclosure

This course does not include any discussion of an off-label use of a commercial product or an investigational use not yet approved for any purpose by the FDA.

Commercial Support

No commercial support was received for this online program.

Content Disclaimer

The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

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Online Course Developers

William Frank, J.D., Assistant Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, MMS
Kathleen Bellisle, Manager of MMS Distance Learning
Thelma Tatten, Program Coordinator, MMS Distance Learning

References

Hard to say

When doctors talk, patients don't always hear

By Elizabeth Cooney 

September 20, 2010

Boston Globe, must be a subscriber

http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/09/20/what_doctors_say_is_often_not_what_patients_hear/

Informed Consent

American Medical Association

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/legal-topics/patient-physician-relationship-topics/informed-consent.shtml

Health and Human Services, Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)

OHRP Informed Consent Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/informconsfaq.html 

Office for Protection from Research Risks

Tips on Informed Consent

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/ictips.htm 

The Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making

http://www.informedmedicaldecisions.org/ 

Involving patients in decision making and communicating risk: a longitudinal evaluation of doctors’ attitudes and confidence during a randomized trial

Adrian Edwards PhD MRCGP MRCP¹ and Glyn Elwyn PhD FRCGP²

¹Reader, Department of Primary Care, Swansea Clinical School, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, Wales, UK

²Professor, Department of Primary Care, Swansea Clinical School, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, Wales, UK

http://www.dhmc.org/dhmc-internet-upload/file_collection/Edwards%20A,%20Involving%20patients.pdf 

The DECISIONS Study: A Portrait of How Americans Make Common Medical Decisions

Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher, Ph.D.

Health Behavior & Health Education, U. of Michigan Public Health

Internal Medicine (General Medicine), U. of Michigan Medical School

Center for Bioethics & Social Sciences in Medicine (CBSSM)

Hardware & Software Requirements

Supported Browsers
Internet Explorer v.7 or greater (for Windows)
Mozilla Firefox v.2 or greater (for Windows, Mac, Linux)

Minimum System Requirements

Windows Systems Requirements
A Pentium-based PC or compatible computer.
At least 64MB of RAM.
Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP/Vista system software.
Screen resolution of 1024 x 786 or larger recommended
PDF Reader: Adobe Reader 5.0 or higher, Foxit Reader 2.0 or likewise.

Mac OS System Requirements
A PowerPC processor-based Macintosh computer.
At least 64MB of RAM.
Mac OS 7.5 or later.
Screen resolution of 1024 x 786 or larger recommended.
PDF Reader: Adobe Reader 5.0 or higher, Foxit Reader 2.0 or likewise.

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Contact Us

Contact us at continuingeducation@mms.org or (800) 322-2303, ext. 7306. Massachusetts Medical Society, 860 Winter Street, Waltham, MA 02451.

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