Hello and happy (almost) autumn!

While all of us at PRMS are enjoying the last few days of summer, we are looking forward to a busy autumn – and all of its beautiful colors and cool temperatures!

To spread awareness about National Physician Suicide Awareness Day on September 17, our Risk Managers wrote this article, which addresses one of the many causes of physician suicides – stress related to litigation. WHO’s World Patient Safety Day, also on September 17, focuses on the theme of medication this year, so we created a new article, Top 10 Medication Safety Tips, to complement the topic. Both new articles are attached to this email, and we hope your members find them of interest along with the below September Fact vs. Fiction resource.

PRMS Blog

In honor of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month this September, PRMS is pleased to donate to and highlight two organizations in support of this cause – the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Give an Hour – in one of our latest blog articles here.


Have a beautiful and healthy autumn season!

September Fact vs Fiction Resource

If you have a patient who owes you a large sum of money, you may refuse to schedule the patient or to provide refills until he/she either catches up with their payments, or agrees to a suitable repayment plan.

What do you think – fact or fiction?

ANSWER: Fiction!

So long as a patient is under your care, your licensing board expects you to meet their clinical needs.  Refusing to see them or to prescribe necessary medication until they are able to pay could be grounds for a claim of abandonment.  If a patient can’t or won’t timely pay your fees, you can initiate termination of the treatment relationship, but you must not withhold treatment until the termination becomes effective.  It is also not appropriate to withhold a patient’s medical records until they have paid their past-due bills.  This practice is specifically precluded under HIPAA, as well as the laws of many individual states.