Legal Advisor: Terminating the Doctor- Patient Relationship
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.
Learning 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 Fees
Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Member Physician: $20.00
MMS Resident/Student: $0.00
Non-Member Physician: $45.00
Non-Member Resident/Student: $10.00
Allied Health Professional/Other: $16.00
Format: Text
CME Credit: 1.00
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Accreditation Statement
The Massachusetts Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical
Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
AMA Credit Designation Statement
The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.00
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.
Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
This activity meets the criteria for the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for risk management study.
MOC Approval Statement
Through the American Board of Medical Specialties ("ABMS") ongoing commitment to increase access to practice relevant Maintenance of Certification ("MOC") Activities through the ABMS Continuing Certification Directory , this activity has met the requirements as an MOC Part II CME Activity (apply toward general CME requirement) for the following ABMS Member Boards:
Allergy and Immunology
Anesthesiology
Colon and Rectal Surgery
Family Medicine
Nuclear Medicine
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Plastic Surgery
Preventive Medicine
Psychiatry & Neurology
Radiology
Thoracic Surgery
Urology
National Commission on Certification of Physicians Assistant (NCCPA).
Physician Assistants may claim a maximum of 1.00 Category 1 credits for completing this activity. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.
A score of 70% or higher is required to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Activity Term
Original Released Date: September 20, 2010
Review Date: March 20, 2012, September 20, 2013, March 20, 2015, September 20, 2016, March 20, 2018, September 12, 2018
Termination Date: September 12, 2021
System requirements:
Desktops/Laptops
Windows 10
Mac OSX 10.6 higher
Most modern browsers including:
IE 11+
Firefox 18.0+
Chrome latest version
Safari 12+
Mobile/Tablet
iOS devices beginning with OS version 10 or higher (includes, iPhone, ipad and iTouch devices)
Android devices including tablets and phones.
Windows RT and tablets on Windows 8 are also supported.
