What role does the office manager play in helping a separated dental patient find another provider?
An active one, beyond just handing the patient a referral list. The resignation letter explicitly states that the office manager will help the patient find another dentist, which converts the separation from an abandonment posture into a continuity-of-care handoff. The office manager identifies suitable alternative practices, communicates the patient’s pending transition with appropriate consent and HIPAA compliance, transfers necessary records once the patient selects a new provider, and follows up to confirm the patient has established care elsewhere. The work takes hours, not minutes. The investment serves multiple purposes. It protects the practice against regulatory claims of patient abandonment. It demonstrates professional conduct that holds up under any later scrutiny. It also leaves the patient, even a difficult one, with a defensible path forward rather than a sudden cutoff. The transition typically goes more smoothly than the doctor and team expect. The patient receives the message respectfully, the office manager handles the logistics, and the practice recovers the operational capacity to serve patients better suited to it.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.