Drs firing patients

[Anonymous]

I am hearing this is becoming an issue. It seems a Dr can refuse to see a patient if the patient is deemed annoying (by asking questions) or for no reason at all.
Until recently I have never heard of this and I have heard this multiple times. In some cases the patient is on Medicare. How can this be suddenly happening?
Is it legal and what is the driving force?

[Anonymous]

I fired three drs for ignoring my questions, for incompetence, and for unprofessional bedside manners.

[Anonymous]

I invite them to retire. They may be happier working at Walmart.

[Anonymous]

All that is required is sufficient notice. What is sufficient depends on the patients health and the doctor’s specialty.

[Anonymous]

It's a business that is becoming increasingly less profitable and more complicated for doctors to navigate with regards to insurance. They're stretched thin, they're cranky and exhausted and understaffed. And the staff they do have is god awful, rude, untrained, and uneducated. So yeah I understand why it's happening. It's a shame because there are many patients who really do need them.

[Anonymous]

OP, did a fired patient actually tell you this? Did you ask why?

[Anonymous]

My husband is a doctor and I'm a research scientist. I've never heard of any doctor firing a patient for asking too many questions, being annoying, or being on Medicare or Medicaid. I imagine that rarely, there are cases where a medical practice might not feel safe with a patient suffering from mental illness who has made threats or been violent... but we're not aware of this happening in our circle.

No doctor would do this unless for dire reasons. Doctors are trained to deal with all sorts of obstacles in patient care, it's part of their job. Heck, at hospital trauma centers, they deal with violent offenders and violent drug addicts all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, did a fired patient actually tell you this? Did you ask why?

Yes. But it’s more than 1 person probably because I am a patient advocate.The problem is that there are not many options for people in places where options are limited or alternative care is subpar. I have heard this a few times from Mayo Clinics that are outside Minnesota, particularly in Jacksonville. But it is becoming more familiar across the board.
Is this legal to do to Medicare patients? These decisions are often made by clerical staff.
It’s Drs firing patients not patients firing drs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, did a fired patient actually tell you this? Did you ask why?

Yes. They don’t know why. It felt personal but could it be staffing?

[Anonymous]

Can legal action be taken? What circumstances would warrant this?

[Anonymous]

Doctors really only fire patients for what they believe is a liability to their malpractice insurance. But I could see how questions could be seen as threatening by some doctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did a fired patient actually tell you this? Did you ask why?

Yes. But it’s more than 1 person probably because I am a patient advocate.The problem is that there are not many options for people in places where options are limited or alternative care is subpar. I have heard this a few times from Mayo Clinics that are outside Minnesota, particularly in Jacksonville. But it is becoming more familiar across the board.
Is this legal to do to Medicare patients? These decisions are often made by clerical staff.
It’s Drs firing patients not patients firing drs.

Is it that you think doctors are indentured servants, or what?

As has been noted so many times, it's just a business. Doctors aren't special, and the work they do isn't special. It's just a contract, an agreement between people. If you don't think the relationship is working, you fire them, and if they think it isn't a therapeutic relationship that is going anywhere healthy, then they can do the same .

They're just people doing a job, and the job isn't special, right?

The rules are they have to give notice (usually 30 days) and send on your medical information if requested. They can charge a reasonable fee to make copies. You can't shackle anyone to a chair and force them to take care of you. The only exception is ERs, and in extreme circumstances, even that has limits.

[Anonymous]

PS: There's a difference between "asking questions" in a polite and respectful way, and asking them in a way that comes with insults, rude challenges, and an insistence to do excessive work for free when it isn't medically indicated.

[Anonymous]

https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/terminating-patient-physician-relationship
AMA Code of Ethics
Terminating a Patient-Physician Relationship

https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/discrimination-disruptive-behavior-patients
AMA Code of Ethics
Discrimination & Disruptive Behavior by Patients

https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/management-medical-records
AMA Code of Ethics
Management of Medical Records

[Anonymous]

Drs shouldn't have to put up with the abuse some patients seem entitled to throw at them.

I say, good for them.