Imagine hearing Donald Trump’s famous phrase from your doctor, of all people. Getting a termination letter from your family physician isn’t just possible; it’s plausible in some situations. There are doctors who actually request that patients find a new practice to meet their medical needs.
This type of communication may come as a shock to the patient on the receiving end. The truth is, it may be totally acceptable behavior for a medical professional, depending on the circumstances of the doctor and your history with the practice. Like any relationship, sometimes the “chemistry” just isn’t there.
While this is not always a legally or ethically sound decision for a doctor to make, it’s not uncommon. As a patient, you need to be aware of when it is or is not okay for your doctor to give you your walking papers.
Reasons Why a Doctor Can Fire You
Based on guidelines of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Code of Ethics, there are some basic reasons why it is professionally appropriate for a doctor to discontinue care for a patient. The following list will describe those reasons.
- The patient repeatedly misses appointments. Most doctors understand when it comes to the need to reschedule or cancel appointments on occasion. Maybe you got caught in traffic, have a sick child or a work emergency. These things happen, and medical professionals and their staff are trained to approach patients with empathy and compassion. However, missed or changed appointments wreak havoc on a practice’s schedule and may cause financial losses. When a patient habitually cancels or calls to reschedule appointments to the point of becoming a regular problem for the practice and its staff, it is appropriate for the doctor to ask that patient to find a new physician.