Doctor Leaving Practice: Letter to Patients (With Sample)
Who sends a doctor leaving practice letter to patients, what it may say under a non-solicitation clause, a sample to adapt, and what records rules require.
In this article
A doctor leaving practice letter to patients differs from a retirement letter in one decisive way: the practice, not the departing physician, usually controls it. Your employment agreement typically governs who notifies patients, what the letter may say, and whether you can tell patients where you are going. Many agreements contain non-solicitation terms that restrict naming your new practice. Read the agreement before drafting anything, because sending your own letter can breach it. A sample and the questions to settle first are below.
When a physician retires, the main questions are records and continuity. When a physician leaves one practice for another, those questions remain — but a second set sits on top of them, and it is contractual rather than clinical. Who sends the letter. What it may say. Whether patients may be told where you have gone.
Getting this wrong is the common way an otherwise amicable departure becomes a dispute. A doctor leaving practice letter to patients that was never cleared with the practice is the usual starting point for one. For the broader picture see what a practice transition involves and writing a practice transition letter.
Settle these four questions before drafting
Each is normally answered by your employment or shareholder agreement, not by preference.
| Question | Why it decides the letter |
|---|---|
| Who notifies patients? | Many agreements give the practice sole control of patient communication. Sending your own letter first can be a breach even where the content is unobjectionable. |
| May you name your new practice? | Non-solicitation clauses frequently prohibit it. This is the single most contested sentence in these letters. |
| Which patients may be contacted? | Agreements often limit contact to patients you personally treated within a defined period, and may bar use of the practice’s patient list entirely. |
| What does the board require regardless? | A contract cannot override a licensing obligation. Where board rules require patients be told how to reach you or obtain records, that requirement stands. |
That last row is the tension worth understanding: contractual restrictions and board obligations can point in different directions, and several states have addressed it specifically. This is the point at which a healthcare attorney earns their fee — this page is not legal advice.
Sample doctor leaving practice letter to patients
This version assumes the practice is sending it and that you may not name your destination. Where your agreement permits more, you can say more.
[Practice letterhead]
[Date]
Dear [Patient name],
We are writing to let you know that Dr. [name] will be leaving [practice name] on [last day].
We are grateful for the care Dr. [name] has provided to our patients and wish [them] well.
Your continuing care. [Practice name] will continue to care for you. Dr. [name] and Dr. [name] are accepting Dr. [departing name]’s patients, and you may request a specific physician when you call. Your records remain with the practice and there is nothing you need to do to stay with us.
If you wish to continue with Dr. [departing name]. You are free to choose any physician. If you would like your records transferred to another practice, complete the enclosed authorisation and return it to [address], or call us at [phone] and we will assist you. Records are transferred at no charge to a treating physician.
Appointments already scheduled. If you have an appointment with Dr. [name] after [last day], our office will contact you to reschedule with another physician at a time that suits you.
Thank you for your continued trust in [practice name].
Sincerely,
[Name], Practice Administrator
[Practice name]
[Phone] · [Address]
The paragraph beginning “If you wish to continue” is the one patients act on and the one most often cut. Removing it may satisfy a non-solicitation concern while creating a different problem, since patients retain the right to choose their physician and to have records transferred. Have counsel review the final wording.
Wondering how this applies to your practice? A Tenet advisor can walk you through it in a confidential call.
Talk to an advisorWhat makes this different from a retirement letter
- The practice usually owns the relationship. Patients are generally the practice’s patients, not the physician’s, and the patient list is practice property. This is why unilateral letters cause disputes.
- Non-compete terms may follow you. Where enforceable, a restrictive covenant can limit where you practise next, which in turn affects whether patients can realistically follow.
- Records stay put. Unlike a closure, the practice continues and remains custodian. Patients request transfers; you do not take files with you.
- Tone is a joint product. A letter drafted solely by the remaining practice can read as though the departing physician vanished. A letter drafted solely by the departing physician can read as recruitment. The usable version is agreed.
Non-compete enforceability in particular has been shifting, and differs considerably between states and by employer type. Treat any general statement about it, including this one, as a prompt to get current advice rather than an answer.
If the departure is really a transition
Sometimes a physician leaving is the first step in a practice winding down — a remaining senior partner without a successor, or a group that cannot replace the departing doctor. When that is the real situation, the letter is the wrong thing to be thinking about first.
A practice losing a physician it cannot replace loses value steadily, and the window in which it can be sold as a going concern is finite. If that describes your group, it is worth understanding what the practice is worth now rather than after another year of attrition. See how practices are valued, how associate buyouts are structured, or how to sell a medical practice.
Talk to an advisor
Tenet M&A advises physicians and groups through ownership change, including departures that turn into transitions. Explore how we represent sellers or start a confidential conversation. This guide is educational and is not legal, employment, or medical-regulatory advice.
Frequently asked questions about a doctor leaving a practice
Who notifies patients when a doctor leaves a practice?
Usually the practice, because most employment agreements give it control of patient communication and treat the patient list as practice property. The departing physician may have a right to be involved in the wording, and in some states board rules require that patients be told how to obtain records and continue care regardless of what the contract says. Check the agreement before anyone sends anything.
Can a departing doctor tell patients where they are going?
It depends on the agreement. Non-solicitation clauses frequently prohibit naming the new practice or contacting patients directly, and this is the most commonly disputed point in a departure. Some states limit how far such restrictions can go where they interfere with a patient’s ability to choose a physician, so the answer is both contractual and jurisdictional.
Can patients follow their doctor to a new practice?
Patients are free to choose their physician and to have their records transferred to whoever treats them next. What is restricted is the departing physician soliciting them, not the patient’s own choice. A letter can therefore explain how to request a records transfer without naming a destination.
What happens to patient records when a physician leaves?
They stay with the practice, which continues as custodian. This differs from a retirement or closure, where a custodian must be arranged and named. Patients who move to the departing physician request a transfer, and records are normally transferred to a treating physician at no charge.
How much notice should patients get that a doctor is leaving?
Enough to arrange continuing care without interruption, which in practice usually means several weeks to a few months and is often fixed by the employment agreement’s notice period. Where a state board sets a minimum, that governs. Patients with scheduled appointments after the departure date should be contacted directly rather than relying on the letter alone.
Planning a sale or transition?
Talk through timing, structure and likely buyers in a confidential conversation with a Tenet advisor.
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