FWD: Pain Question and Answer-Finding Pain Care When My Doctor Closes

Pain Question & Answer

Finding Pain Care When Your Doctor Closes Practice
by Micke A. Brown, BSN, RN

Question: My physician, who has been treating my pain for years, is closing the practice and moving out of town. How do I go about finding someone who will continue treating my pain?

Answer: By law and by ethics, your physician cannot abandon you. Your healthcare provider is obligated to arrange for the transition of care for his/her established patients. Often, as a practice is closed, other providers may either purchase that business practice or make an agreement to accept those patients into their practice. Patient records are then transferred to that new practice. This implies that the medical relationship is transferred as well. You should be provided official notice of those arrangements and given the option to continue care with that new practice or directed to other providers to arrange for transfer of care. Many times a list is provided or can be obtained through area hospitals or the medical licensing board in your state.

If the new provider is unable or unwilling to manage your pain, a referral to a pain specialist or another primary care provider should be arranged. Referrals to pain specialists most frequently require a physician request and transfer of medical information. Examples of pain services in your area can be found on the APF website www.painfoundation.org Click on Useful Links About Pain, then Find A Doctor.

Continued care, until a referral has been completed and you have been accepted into a new practice, remains an obligation of your medical provider. When this does not occur it is equivalent to medical abandonment. Further action may be a necessary next step, such as filing reports to:

• State Board of Medicine
• Hospital Ethics Committee (if that practice is part of a hospital system)
• State & Federal Legislators.

February, 2007