It is inevitable – at some point in time you will leave your current place of practice, whether that means moving to a new practice location, or retiring. Sometimes these moves are well planned out, other times not. Here is a short guide on things that you need to consider when leaving a place of practice.
One of the best things that you can do is to organize details of clinic departure before it happens. One way to do this is to include these details in either your employment or subcontractor contract. If your current agreement has not contemplated such things, amending the contract now to include such considerations would be prudent. Remember, as a professional, you have certain professional responsibilities which you must ensure are fulfilled.
So, let’s talk about your professional responsibilities to your clients:
Contacting Your Clientele
When leaving a practice, the following information must be conveyed to your clients, either by you personally, or by the clinic:
- notice of your departure from the clinic so that alternative care arrangements can be made; and,
- where and how their health records will be stored; and,
- who to contact with requests for access and/or copies.
While it is important that your clients be made aware that you are no longer going to be practicing at a location, it is also important that you understand that in providing them with that notice you must also meet any contractual obligations you may have either with your employer or contractor. We are aware that some agreements with clinic owners include non-compete and non-solicitation clauses. We cannot stress this enough – when you are signing a contract, either as an employee or as a subcontractor, it is always in your best interest to have that contract reviewed by your lawyer. Don’t have a lawyer? Don’t forget that as a CMMOTA Member you have access to Legal Guard through your Professional Liability Insurance Policy. To learn more please visit this page.
Knowing what you are agreeing to when you accept a contract is incredibly important. Failure to live up to your contract may result in civil litigation against you by the holder of the contract, not to mention that breach of a contract would also be considered a form of professional misconduct that may result in disciplinary action by the Association should a formal complaint be filed.
Outside of a regulated environment, the obligation to inform your clientele of your departure either from practice altogether, or departure to a different practice location, would likely be trumped by an employment or subcontractor contract. Where you are contractually bound in personally relaying information to your clientele on your departure, please ensure that the clinic conveys the required information to your clientele.
Further, we want to make it clear that in an unregulated environment, professionally you are under no obligation to inform a client of your next place of practice unless that place of practice is the only place where they will be able to access their health record.
Records Retention
As a therapist you are responsible to ensure that your client’s records are maintained for the mandatory 10-year time frame (see CMMOTA’s Client Records, Charting and Treatment Notes Policy). If you are leaving a clinic which is planning on retaining and maintaining your records, then it is a good idea to have a written agreement in place that confirms that clinic as the health information custodian. That agreement should include that they will retain the records for the mandatory 10 years, stored securely and confidentially, in accordance with CMMOTA policy. Further, this agreement should include language that allows for access by you to your client’s record when required for valid reasons. If you are taking your client files with you, or a copy of the client files with you, then such an agreement is not necessary – just remember that even if you have ceased practice, you must retain your client records or assign them to a health information custodian for the required retention period.