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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,258
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.

@Carmie

 

"Held to a higher standard"

 

Frank explanation:  Of all of the professions in the world, I hold physicians to a much higher standard of ethics, standards, education - I could go on - than I do many other professions.

 

Why?  Because if a physician makes an error, it could result a death or permanent disability.  Physicians MUST be on the ball 24/7.  The day my ortho changed out my left knee for a Stryker Triathlon was a day I should never have gone into that O.R.  Clearly, this doc made several errors.  I expected a high level of performance and expertise from this ortho surgeon and what I ended up with is a left foot with paralyzed toes, half paralyzed foot, numb foot, bad ROM in my ankle and a messed up insertion of the ITB.  None of this will go away.  Was I ticked at this doc?  You bet and I let him know it, as I retired from a position in which I was a division head of training surgical skills to staff and resident physicians. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,504
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.


@sfnative wrote:

@CelticCrafter@Moonchilde

 


@CelticCrafter wrote:

@Moonchilde wrote:

This happened to my niece.  She's a basically healthy person who rarely needs to see a doctor, so she doesn't go often.

 

Her doctor also treated my mother (who passed away just shy of 95) for about 16 years. The doctor frequently complained that rules and regulations and administrative and governmental changes were very disheartening and had him thinking of quitting his practice.

 

One thing in particular was the rise of hospitalists - a hospital can decide that ALL of its inpatients WILL be treated, while in the hospital, by a doctor paid by the hospital to manage their inpatients. The patient's regular doctor cannot treat them while they are hospitalized, only the hospitalist - a complete stranger who knows diddly about them. If that had been in effect during his care of my mother, she would have died 10 years before she did.

 

My mother went into a nursing home 2 yrs before she died, and as most people know, the nursing home usually has its own doctor, period (at least, for medicaid patients).

 

So, my niece lost track of the doctor. Last year she had to go to the ER with a kidney stone. When they asked her who her doctor was and she told them, she was informed that he'd closed his practice months before. A new doctor was in his office space, but she was told that "no one knew" where patients' records were. She had never gotten any notification.

 

She never pursued it, but I know that legally those records MUST be available somewhere, or lawsuits would be filed.

 

I think the doctor just said **** it one day and walked out. He doesn't have to worry about any state medical body because he retired - he isn't going to practice medicine again. 


I had no idea hospitals were doing this until it happened with my father.  After seeing him for all of maybe 10  minutes, she decided he was depressed because my mom had passed and she put him on anti-depressants.  No, just no - they had been married 55 years, of course he's going to be sad but he did not need a pill for it.

 

I called his PCP to find out who this person was and did my father for some reason fire him.

 

 


I was employeed by a hospital during the current advent of hospitalists and was friends with the Head of Credentialing.  One day during lunch together, I asked her how her work load was, as they had been swamped for 2 months.  She said it had just picked up again due to the hiring of several "Hospitalists."  Not sure myself of the exact definition of this specialist, I asked her to explain.  She did so, adding that one of them was picked up by the hospital after he was released by his peds group practice, as he lost a medical mal law suit regarding the child of another physician.  So...unable to find a "job," he applied for the hospitalist position.  So, now the hospital has a pediatric specialist treating adults.  As long as I worked in that hospital (in a different state), I truly hoped that I was never admitted under any circumstance.


 

 

O.M.G.

 

It's really up to the individual hospital's medical board of directors to set standards for hiring. But I know that while doctors get specifically credentialed as hospitalists NOW, that's pretty recent. So smaller hospitals with smaller budgets don't exactly get pick of the cream of the crop.  Aieeee!

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,970
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.


@Moonchilde wrote:

This happened to my niece.  She's a basically healthy person who rarely needs to see a doctor, so she doesn't go often.

 

Her doctor also treated my mother (who passed away just shy of 95) for about 16 years. The doctor frequently complained that rules and regulations and administrative and governmental changes were very disheartening and had him thinking of quitting his practice.

 

One thing in particular was the rise of hospitalists - a hospital can decide that ALL of its inpatients WILL be treated, while in the hospital, by a doctor paid by the hospital to manage their inpatients. The patient's regular doctor cannot treat them while they are hospitalized, only the hospitalist - a complete stranger who knows diddly about them. If that had been in effect during his care of my mother, she would have died 10 years before she did.

 

My mother went into a nursing home 2 yrs before she died, and as most people know, the nursing home usually has its own doctor, period (at least, for medicaid patients).

 

So, my niece lost track of the doctor. Last year she had to go to the ER with a kidney stone. When they asked her who her doctor was and she told them, she was informed that he'd closed his practice months before. A new doctor was in his office space, but she was told that "no one knew" where patients' records were. She had never gotten any notification.

 

She never pursued it, but I know that legally those records MUST be available somewhere, or lawsuits would be filed.

 

I think the doctor just said **** it one day and walked out. He doesn't have to worry about any state medical body because he retired - he isn't going to practice medicine again. 


_________________________________________________________

 

@Moonchilde, that is not the case in the state of Ky or in this region either.  No hospital can mandate whether all of its patients will be seen by a hospitalist or not.  It is up to the primary care physician or the primary physician's group.  If the doctor wants to have a hospitalist see his/her patients when they are admitted to the hospital, it is the docs policy that determines that decision...not the hospital.

 

We do educational sessions for community members and this is one of the things that is included...ask your doctor who will see you if you are admitted to the hospital.  They have to tell you whether it is their policy to have hospitalists follow you or if they will still see you in the hospital.  We still have a number of smaller doctors groups  that see their own patients in the hospital.  However, in those cases they usually only have admission priviledges for a maximum of 2 hospitals.  That way, they limit how many hospitals they have to round at to see their patients.

 

Could be totally different in Calif., but in this region it is up to the primary care provider who will see his/her patients in the hospital.  The hospital does not have the right to over-ride the doctors' desire to see their patients in the hospital if that is what the doctors wants to do.


* Freedom has a taste the protected will never know *
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,504
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.


@pitdakota wrote:

@Moonchilde wrote:

This happened to my niece.  She's a basically healthy person who rarely needs to see a doctor, so she doesn't go often.

 

Her doctor also treated my mother (who passed away just shy of 95) for about 16 years. The doctor frequently complained that rules and regulations and administrative and governmental changes were very disheartening and had him thinking of quitting his practice.

 

One thing in particular was the rise of hospitalists - a hospital can decide that ALL of its inpatients WILL be treated, while in the hospital, by a doctor paid by the hospital to manage their inpatients. The patient's regular doctor cannot treat them while they are hospitalized, only the hospitalist - a complete stranger who knows diddly about them. If that had been in effect during his care of my mother, she would have died 10 years before she did.

 

My mother went into a nursing home 2 yrs before she died, and as most people know, the nursing home usually has its own doctor, period (at least, for medicaid patients).

 

So, my niece lost track of the doctor. Last year she had to go to the ER with a kidney stone. When they asked her who her doctor was and she told them, she was informed that he'd closed his practice months before. A new doctor was in his office space, but she was told that "no one knew" where patients' records were. She had never gotten any notification.

 

She never pursued it, but I know that legally those records MUST be available somewhere, or lawsuits would be filed.

 

I think the doctor just said **** it one day and walked out. He doesn't have to worry about any state medical body because he retired - he isn't going to practice medicine again. 


_________________________________________________________

 

@Moonchilde, that is not the case in the state of Ky or in this region either.  No hospital can mandate whether all of its patients will be seen by a hospitalist or not.  It is up to the primary care physician or the primary physician's group.  If the doctor wants to have a hospitalist see his/her patients when they are admitted to the hospital, it is the docs policy that determines that decision...not the hospital.

 

We do educational sessions for community members and this is one of the things that is included...ask your doctor who will see you if you are admitted to the hospital.  They have to tell you whether it is their policy to have hospitalists follow you or if they will still see you in the hospital.  We still have a number of smaller doctors groups  that see their own patients in the hospital.  However, in those cases they usually only have admission priviledges for a maximum of 2 hospitals.  That way, they limit how many hospitals they have to round at to see their patients.

 

Could be totally different in Calif., but in this region it is up to the primary care provider who will see his/her patients in the hospital.  The hospital does not have the right to over-ride the doctors' desire to see their patients in the hospital if that is what the doctors wants to do.


 

 

 

In CA it is up to the hospital. I'm sure the Medical Staff weighs in, but how much weight Medical Staff have as a voting body is far less than it used to be. Nearly all hospitals in CA are owned and run by half a dozen huge not-for-profit conglomerates, some religious, some secular.  Stand-alone hospitals in this state are largely a thing of the past. It's all about running a hospital in the black, or at least as little red as possible.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all
Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,473
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.

@sfnative

 

Didnt happen directly to me but my sons Primary doctor (after his chemo was thru) closed up...both of us wondered why. He had a great long standing practice BUT was one who would be a "pill writer". (they cracked down big time in FL on doctors for this)

 

We think he was was under investigation because we were never able to get medical records transferred & no other practitioners in the building would say why he closed up (very tight knit group). 

 

about 6 months ago there was a small article he was being charged with Medicare and prescription fraud😳.  

 

Of course, extreme situation. He just shopped the avail dr under his plan & chose based on reviews. This new dr is great!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,970
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.


@Moonchilde wrote:

@pitdakota wrote:

 

She never pursued it, but I know that legally those records MUST be available somewhere, or lawsuits would be filed.

 

I think the doctor just said **** it one day and walked out. He doesn't have to worry about any state medical body because he retired - he isn't going to practice medicine again. 


who her doctor was and she told them, she was informed that he'd closed his practice months before. A new doctor was in his office space, but she was told that "no one knew" where patients' records were. She had never gotten any notification.

_________________________________________________________

 

@Moonchilde, that is not the case in the state of Ky or in this region either.  No hospital can mandate whether all of its patients will be seen by a hospitalist or not.  It is up to the primary care physician or the primary physician's group.  If the doctor wants to have a hospitalist see his/her patients when they are admitted to the hospital, it is the docs policy that determines that decision...not the hospital.

 

We do educational sessions for community members and this is one of the things that is included...ask your doctor who will see you if you are admitted to the hospital.  They have to tell you whether it is their policy to have hospitalists follow you or if they will still see you in the hospital.  We still have a number of smaller doctors groups  that see their own patients in the hospital.  However, in those cases they usually only have admission priviledges for a maximum of 2 hospitals.  That way, they limit how many hospitals they have to round at to see their patients.

 

Could be totally different in Calif., but in this region it is up to the primary care provider who will see his/her patients in the hospital.  The hospital does not have the right to over-ride the doctors' desire to see their patients in the hospital if that is what the doctors wants to do.


 

 

 

In CA it is up to the hospital. I'm sure the Medical Staff weighs in, but how much weight Medical Staff have as a voting body is far less than it used to be. Nearly all hospitals in CA are owned and run by half a dozen huge not-for-profit conglomerates, some religious, some secular.  Stand-alone hospitals in this state are largely a thing of the past. It's all about running a hospital in the black, or at least as little red as possible.


______________________________________________________

 

Yeah, most hospitals here are members of larger organizations as well.  However, physicians have not turned over the ability for hospitals to tell them who is going to see their patients when they are hospitalized.  That wouldn't fly here by any means with docs.  I realize it might be different in Calif, but I don't think that is the case in many of the areas across the country. 

 

Lots of physicians groups opt to have hospitalists see their patients because it makes their practice so much easier.  They can see patients in the office and go home without having to make rounds before and after office hours, they don't have to take call at night, over the weekends, or holidays.  So it is an attractive arrangement and many of them opt for that.  But it is their choice.

 

So it is best that everyone ask their primary care provider who will see them in the case they are hospitalized.  That way you know up front before being in the hospital.  But it may be a slim opportunity to find a practice that has made the decision to see patients in the hospital since it really signficantly adds to their workload. 

 

And on the other side of the fence of having been a nurse in the hospital, hospitalists do have their advantages.  Sometimes docs rounding in the morning were in such a hurry to make rounds and get to their office to start office hours, they didn't know which end was up.  It was at those times they were apt to make major mistakes or overlook important information.  Then there were the times that a patient crashed and we would call the office and had to wait forever for them to get to the phone when we called the office.  They would give us initial orders and then tell us to do whatever we had to do until they got to the hospital....oh, those were not some good times.  So there are advantages to having hospitalists, along with disadvantages.

 

 

 

 

 

 


* Freedom has a taste the protected will never know *
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,604
Registered: ‎10-25-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.


@sfnative wrote:

@Carmie

 

"Held to a higher standard"

 

Frank explanation:  Of all of the professions in the world, I hold physicians to a much higher standard of ethics, standards, education - I could go on - than I do many other professions.

 

Why?  Because if a physician makes an error, it could result a death or permanent disability.  Physicians MUST be on the ball 24/7.  The day my ortho changed out my left knee for a Stryker Triathlon was a day I should never have gone into that O.R.  Clearly, this doc made several errors.  I expected a high level of performance and expertise from this ortho surgeon and what I ended up with is a left foot with paralyzed toes, half paralyzed foot, numb foot, bad ROM in my ankle and a messed up insertion of the ITB.  None of this will go away.  Was I ticked at this doc?  You bet and I let him know it, as I retired from a position in which I was a division head of training surgical skills to staff and resident physicians. 


Well, all that holding the physician to a higher standard did what good?  

 

And you were ticked because he screwed up and you were retired from a position in which you were a division head of training surgical skills to staff and resident physicians?

 

Be honest, you were ticked because you received substandard care.  Your work position had nothing to do with it.  Who cares what your job is or was, it has no bearing on this?

 

Hopefully, next time you'll choose a better physician with better skills instead of a not too good physician whom you are holding to a higher standard.

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Posts: 33,629
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.

[ Edited ]

@sfnative wrote:

Hi Everyone!

 

I'm curious about this because my Internist went to work at her Internal Medicine group practice on Friday, February 24th and at the end of the day announced that she would not return.

 

In essence, by doing so, she abandoned her patients.  This included me and my husband.

 

What, if anything, would you do about this physician?  Would you report this abandonment to state officials?

 

I'd appreciate your input.  Many thanks in advance.

 

Rebecca


@sfnative

 

I had not one,but two doctors abandon their practices.......the first doctor left with no explanation, luckily another physician within the same Medical Group offered to take her patients.....The second doctor was complaining about all the regulations and expense it was going to cost her because of the Affordable Care Act, at least she sent a letter out to her patients saying she decided to leave the medical profession and gave the name of the doctor that would be handling her patients and she added the new doctor will take good care of you......Several of my friend's doctors also quit the medical profession.....and a relative's doctor left the medical profession because he decided to become a lawyer....You can't really report them unless they did something against the law or AMA or they did something wrong that merited filing a malpractice suit etc.......

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
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Posts: 33,629
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.


@Moonchilde wrote:

@sfnative wrote:

@Pook wrote:

Just because they are doctors does not make them responsible for you.  They are leaving a job - nothing personal - just like when we leave jobs and move on. 


@Pook

 

My physicians are not "responsible for you [me]."  That's the job of a parent, as we're growing up(!).

 

I do hold physicians to a higher standard than nearly all other professions, for good reason.  And, it is NOT just like leaving another other job for no reason and no notice.

 

I've worked nearly my entire career in healthcare, so am most likely seeing this from a different angle than most. 


 

 

I too spent my working life in large institutions in the healthcare industry. I may have held physicians to a higher standard when I was in my 20s, but that passed. I knew of cheating, multiple divorces, who showed up drunk to do emergency surgery, who was busted for drugs, who molested patients, cheated the govt. Do all doctors do these things? Of course not. But some of them, just like truck drivers, accountants and sales clerks, DO.

 

I saw and heard doctors dress down other professionals in front of their peers. I saw them try to get people fired for no more reason than that they'd said "no" to an unreasonable, ill-tempered demand.

 

In today's World of Medicine, the survivors join a group practice, and their patients are part of that group practice. Some people have to change doctors every year because of their insurance. My doctor's time is typically scheduled in 15 minute blocks for most things. He can't really have a relationship with someone he sees once every 90 days for 15 minutes. And I'm not an unusual patient.

 

I think Boomers will be the last generation that expects a personal relationship with their doctor; younger patients won't miss what they've never had.

 

The times they are a'changin'.


@Moonchilde

 

I think you right.....Boomers will be the last ones that had a personal connection with their doctors...I don't know about your part of the country but we have all these redi clinics, urgent care facilities, and independent emergency rooms.....there are even 3 of them in the same shopping center.....I think this is the way healthcare will now be provided....you just see whoever is available at one of these facilities...much like your supermarket deli...."now serving patient number.........."  and who knows what type of care people will receive....... Woman Frustrated

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,504
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: Curious if anyone has ever had a doctor simply abandon his/her practice.


@Spurt wrote:

@Moonchilde wrote:

@sfnative wrote:

@Pook wrote:

Just because they are doctors does not make them responsible for you.  They are leaving a job - nothing personal - just like when we leave jobs and move on. 


@Pook

 

My physicians are not "responsible for you [me]."  That's the job of a parent, as we're growing up(!).

 

I do hold physicians to a higher standard than nearly all other professions, for good reason.  And, it is NOT just like leaving another other job for no reason and no notice.

 

I've worked nearly my entire career in healthcare, so am most likely seeing this from a different angle than most. 


 

 

I too spent my working life in large institutions in the healthcare industry. I may have held physicians to a higher standard when I was in my 20s, but that passed. I knew of cheating, multiple divorces, who showed up drunk to do emergency surgery, who was busted for drugs, who molested patients, cheated the govt. Do all doctors do these things? Of course not. But some of them, just like truck drivers, accountants and sales clerks, DO.

 

I saw and heard doctors dress down other professionals in front of their peers. I saw them try to get people fired for no more reason than that they'd said "no" to an unreasonable, ill-tempered demand.

 

In today's World of Medicine, the survivors join a group practice, and their patients are part of that group practice. Some people have to change doctors every year because of their insurance. My doctor's time is typically scheduled in 15 minute blocks for most things. He can't really have a relationship with someone he sees once every 90 days for 15 minutes. And I'm not an unusual patient.

 

I think Boomers will be the last generation that expects a personal relationship with their doctor; younger patients won't miss what they've never had.

 

The times they are a'changin'.


@Moonchilde

 

I think you right.....Boomers will be the last ones that had a personal connection with their doctors...I don't know about your part of the country but we have all these redi clinics, urgent care facilities, and independent emergency rooms.....there are even 3 of them in the same shopping center.....I think this is the way healthcare will now be provided....you just see whoever is available at one of these facilities...much like your supermarket deli...."now serving patient number.........."  and who knows what type of care people will receive....... Woman Frustrated


 

 

@Spurt, back in November a relative had a very bad cold/bronchitis, and he has asthma and COPD besides. He couldn't get in to see "his" doctor for a MONTH! He went to an Urgent Care clinic where he was seen by a doctor who prescribed meds that had him feeling 75% better in 3 days. Guy really knew his stuff.  He said he wished he could just see that guy as his PMD, but sadly, things generally don't work that way.

 

Fast forward to NYE, and he went to the ER because of a back pain. Long story short, he was recently operated on for lung cancer with a 2/3 lobectomy and is undergoing rad therapy & chemo. (Different hospital, different doctors.) Those doctors were appalled that he hadn't had a single chest x-ray done in 15 or so years, with his history. His doctor never bothered to order one. And no matter what was up with him, he could never get in to see her in a reasonable length of time when he needed to. So his doctors have no idea how long the cancer had been there.

 

The downside of huge medical groups (we have all been going to the same group but different docs) is they have too many patients to pay them proper attention. 

 

And I know what you mean - you never know what kind of medical care you'll receive at an Urgent center. But that I know of, if it's anything beyond garden variety stuff they will tell you to go to the ER or make an appt with your DR as soon as you can. And I could always have missed it, but I haven't heard of people sueing Urgent Cares for malpractice.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all