PRMS 2024 Risk Management’s New Year Resolutions
It’s that time again, when you may be thinking about resolutions for the new year. While termination has always been a popular topic on our Risk Management Helpline, during the past year we have addressed more termination issues than ever before. It’s an important topic because once a treatment relationship has been established, the psychiatrist remains responsible for the patient’s care until the treatment relationship has been terminated. Accordingly, our suggested easy-to-implement risk management resolutions are focused on termination of the treatment relationship. Get a sneak peak at our first of four risk management resolutions on termination below:
- Discuss the need to terminate with patients, if possible, and utilize the termination process when terminating with active patients. This consists of:
- Providing notice – most states require 30 days of coverage to allow the patient to find a new provider.
- Reviewing treatment recommendations and educating the patient on clinical issues, such as any risks of stopping medications abruptly.
- Providing referral resources. You are not required to place the patient with a new psychiatrist, but rather you need to provide referral resources. One useful resource is the APA’s “Psychiatrist Finder” (https://finder.psychiatry.org/) that patients can use to find a new psychiatrist.
- Sending a letter, documenting the termination discussion. Our termination resource has a model letter that you may find useful. The goal is to have the letter reach the patient, so if mailing it, consider sending it via delivery confirmation. If sent by email or patient portal, try to obtain proof that it was opened.
- Forwarding records to the patient’s new psychiatrist upon request.
Want the rest of our tips on termination? Access all four of the risk management resolutions for 2024 on our website here.
To learn more about the superior psychiatry-specific insurance program and comprehensive services offered by PRMS, click here.
Authored by PRMS.