Doctor-patient relationships can be complicated. Good ones require respect on both sides. Patients need to be able to trust their doctors. However, they also have a right to ask questions and even challenge their findings and advice.
Some doctors are more comfortable with this pushback than others. If a patient is always challenging them, refusing to take their advice or being argumentative or rude, they may feel that it’s better for both of them if the patient seeks care elsewhere.
This can come as a shock to a patient. It can also be very frightening if they’re currently dealing with a serious or chronic condition. They may feel like they’ve been “fired.”
What does a doctor owe a patient they choose to stop treating?
Can a doctor refuse to continue treating a patient? They can. However, they need to take appropriate steps to ensure that they aren’t left without medical care. Let’s look briefly at what that means here in Florida.
The Florida Board of Medicine allows a medical provider to end a patient relationship if they choose. However, a doctor “may not abandon a patient and should provide continuity of care in accordance with the prevailing professional standard of care.” This is the case even if a patient is suing them for malpractice or has filed some other claim against them.
What does providing “continuity of care” look like?
The Florida Medical Association (FMA) recommends that a doctor who elects to stop treating a patient take the following steps:
- Provide notice of their decision to the patient, even if they’ve discussed it
- Help their patient find another provider
- Continue to treat the patient as needed for a minimum of 30 days
These steps aren’t codified in law. However, if a doctor doesn’t take them, they could be accused of medical abandonment (or patient abandonment). This is defined as “failure to provide necessary care within the physician-patient relationship.”
If you believe that a doctor was guilty of medical abandonment and you suffered harm because they refused to continue treating you, it’s smart to get legal guidance and determine what your legal options are.