Can doctors get fired?
Can a doctor be fired from their job? It may come as a surprise, but the answer is “yes.” A doctor can be fired by his or her employer — a medical practice, hospital, or other healthcare facility. Aside from misconduct, a doctor can lose their job for many of the same reasons other professionals can lose theirs. However, when a doctor gets fired, it can be complicated and lead to some legal issues.
There are any number of reasons for firing a doctor. But most experts agree that, in general, it takes a fairly flagrant offense or a series of such offenses for the situation to reach the point where termination is the only option.
The HR department of a practice, hospital, or other facility usually handles the termination of a doctor.
Reasons doctors are fired
Obvious reasons for firing a doctor include losing an insurance contract, a DEA or Medicare license, or losing hospital privileges. All of these reasons can result in a financial loss for a practice or healthcare facility which, in turn, makes the doctor a liability.
However, the actions that are more often cited in the firing of a doctor fall under the broad heading of “anti-group” behavior. Examples of anti-group behavior would include harassing or verbally abusing clinical staff, making demeaning comments, and speaking disrespectfully to team members as well as patients.
Unethical behavior on the part of a doctor could include the following:
- Withholding treatment in order to meet insurance policy and/or budget concerns
- Covering up a mistake
- Taking money from pharmaceutical companies or manufacturers of a medical device
- Working while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Breaching patient confidentiality
While it may certainly be grounds for termination, it can be difficult to determine whether or not a doctor’s unethical behavior has resulted in malpractice because it may or may not have caused harm to a patient. If the behavior breached the duty of care established between the doctor and a patient, resulting in harm to the patient, the patient can bring a medical malpractice claim against the doctor.
Terminating a doctor is a serious process that requires extensive documentation of all problematic or unethical behavior.
Do you have a complaint against a doctor?
It is unlikely for doctors to get fired unless their behavior is egregious. If you have a complaint about what you feel is unethical behavior on the part of a doctor, you can report it to the doctor’s supervisor and can also file a complaint with the state medical board.
However, if you feel that you were injured as the result of a doctor’s unprofessional behavior, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim to get compensated for economic as well as non-economic damages.
Scott S. Harris, medical malpractice attorney in San Diego, has been handling medical malpractice cases for over 30 years, helping clients secure the financial assistance they need to recover and move forward with their lives.