What to do 30-60 days out
5. Tell your staff. They should not hear that you’re retiring or leaving the practice from other people, said Ms. Phairas. But timing is important. “If you notify them too soon, they may look for another job. I recommend telling them about 45 days out and just before you notify patients, although you may want to tell the office manager sooner.”
Doctors may need help closing the practice and should consider offering the employees a severance bonus to stay until the end, said Ms. Phairas. If they do leave sooner, then you can hire temporary staff.
6. Notify patients to avoid any claims of abandonment. You should notify all active patients, which, depending on your state, can be any patient the physician has treated sometime in the past 12-36 months.
Some state laws require the notice to be published as an advertisement in the local newspaper and will say how far in advance it needs to be published and how long the ad needs to run. Notification also should be posted throughout the practice, and patients who call or visit should be given oral reminders.
“Your biggest expense will be mailing a letter to all patients,” said Mr. Zetter. The letter should include:
- The date of closing.
- The name(s) of the physicians taking over the practice (if applicable).
- Local physicians who would be willing to accept new patients.
- Instructions for how patients can obtain or transfer medical records (with a deadline for submitting record requests).
- How to contact the practice if patients and families have any concerns about the closing.
7. Notify your professional associations. These include your state medical board, credentialing organizations, and professional memberships. It’s critical to renew your license even if you plan to practice in other states. He recalled that one doctor let his license lapse and the medical board notified Medicaid that he was no longer licensed. “CMS went after him because he didn’t notify them that he was no longer operating in Washington. CMS shut him down in every state/territory. This interventional radiologist spent 3 years with two attorneys to get it resolved,” said Mr. Zetter.
8. Terminate any leases with landlords or try to negotiate renting the office space on a month-to-month basis until you close or sell, suggests Ms. Phairas. If the practice owns the space, the partners will need to decide if the space will be sold or leased to a new business.
What to do 30 days out
9. Notify referring physicians of when you plan to close your practice so they don’t send new patients after that date.
10. Send a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency to deactivate your license if you plan not to write another prescription and after you have safely disposed of prescription drugs following the federal guidelines. Destroy all prescription pads and contact drug representatives to determine what to do with unused samples, if needed.
11. Notify all vendors. Inform medical suppliers, office suppliers, collection agencies, laundry services, housekeeping services, hazardous waste disposal services, and any other vendors. Make sure to request a final statement from them so you can close out your accounts.
12. Process your accounts receivable to collect money owed to you. Consider employing a collection agency or staff member to reconcile accounts after the practice has closed.
Mr. Zetter also suggested retaining a certified accountant to handle the expenses for shutting down the business and to handle your future tax returns. “If you shut down the practice in 2023, you will still have to file a tax return for that year in 2024,” he said.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.