If there is no employment agreement or other contractual arrangement between the departing podiatric physician and the practice stating otherwise, generally the patient and the patient’s record are the “property” of the practice and the practice is responsible for continued patient care. The departing podiatric physician should not physically remove the patient chart and any other property belonging to the practice at the time of his/her departure.

In general, if there is no employment agreement or other contractual arrangement between the departing podiatric physician and the practice stating otherwise, the departing podiatric physician may give patients notice that he/she is leaving the practice and will be opening up a new practice at another location. However, some states may consider this a violation of your duty as an employee and, therefore, you should consult with legal counsel before
advising patients of your impending departure from the practice. If a patient wants to continue treatment with the
departing podiatric physician, the departing podiatric physician may provide the patient with a medical records release form by which the patient may instruct the practice to release a copy of his/her medical records to the departing podiatric physician. The release form should comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rules. The departing podiatric physician’s written notice to the patient should not give details as to the reasons for the podiatric physician’s departure; doing so is unnecessary and could prompt a lawsuit by the practice. Further, the letter should be neutral in tone, simply advising the patient that he/she has the right to either continue treatment with the practice or to have a copy of his/her records sent to the departing podiatric physician. Once the patient makes a choice, both the practice and the departing podiatric physician must honor that choice.

The responsibility for the patient remains with the group practice until such time the patient has made a decision to move his/her treatment to the departing podiatric physician or another doctor. If the patient chooses to stay with the practice, the malpractice liability for acts committed thereafter also remains with the practice; if the patient chooses to go with the departing podiatric physician, that podiatric physician will then be able to continue the care and will assume responsibility for any malpractice liability. In all instances, the departing podiatric physician and the practice should act professionally to transition the patient’s care in order to avoid compromising the patient’s health.