When your doctor leaves a practice, the practice is legally required to help you continue receiving care, and your medical records don’t disappear. But the transition rarely feels seamless, and knowing your rights and next steps can prevent gaps in prescriptions, insurance coverage, and ongoing treatment.
How You Should Be Notified
Practices are generally required to notify patients in writing before a doctor departs. The exact timeline varies by state, but 30 to 90 days of advance notice is standard. In some provinces and states, the requirement is at least three months’ written notice before a doctor closes or leaves a practice. The notification typically arrives as a letter mailed to your last known address, and it should tell you who will be handling your care going forward or how to request your records.
In reality, you may hear about it through a receptionist, a portal message, or word of mouth before any formal letter arrives. If the departure is sudden (due to illness, a disciplinary issue, or a contract dispute), notice may be much shorter or come after the fact. Either way, the practice itself still has an obligation to arrange for your ongoing care. A doctor cannot simply vanish from your life without ensuring you have a path to continued treatment. Doing so meets the legal definition of patient abandonment: unilateral termination of the physician-patient relationship without adequate notice for you to find substitute care.
What Happens to Your Medical Records
Your records belong to you in the sense that you have a legal right to access them, but the physical or electronic files are typically the property of the practice. When a doctor leaves, those records usually stay with the practice and transfer to another physician there. If the entire practice closes, the departing doctor must either transfer records to a successor provider, send them to a medical records storage company, or give you at least 30 days to request copies before any records are destroyed.
You have the right under federal privacy law to request a copy of your complete medical record at any time. Practices can charge for this, but the cost is regulated. For electronic copies of records maintained electronically, many providers use a flat fee of $6.50 or less per request, though actual costs can sometimes be higher depending on the format and volume. Don’t wait for a crisis to request your records. If you know your doctor is leaving, ask for a copy now so you have it in hand when you establish care elsewhere.
States set their own minimum retention periods for medical records. In New York, for example, adult records must be kept for at least six years from the date of the last visit. Records for minors are kept for six years or until three years after the patient turns 18, whichever is longer. Your state may differ, but the takeaway is the same: your records won’t be deleted overnight, and you have time to retrieve them.
Prescriptions and Medication Refills
This is often the most urgent concern, especially if you take daily medications for blood pressure, diabetes, mental health conditions, or other chronic issues. If your doctor was part of a group practice, another physician there is expected to cover short-term needs, including prescription renewals. Call the front desk and ask who is handling your departing doctor’s patients.
If the practice can’t help or you can’t reach anyone, contact your pharmacy. Pharmacists can often extend existing prescriptions temporarily in urgent situations to prevent a dangerous lapse. This is a bridge, not a long-term solution, but it buys you time to establish care with a new provider. Walk-in clinics and urgent care centers can also write short-term refills for maintenance medications while you’re in transition.
For controlled substances (certain anxiety medications, stimulants, pain medications), refill rules are stricter. You’ll likely need to see a new provider in person before those prescriptions can continue. Prioritize finding a new doctor quickly if you depend on a controlled medication.
Your Insurance Coverage During the Transition
If your doctor leaves your insurance network entirely, you could face higher out-of-pocket costs for visits with that doctor at their new location. However, many insurance plans have continuity of care provisions designed to prevent disruption. For Medicare Advantage plans, federal rules require a 90-day transition period when a beneficiary is undergoing an active course of treatment. During those 90 days, the new plan cannot require prior authorization for treatment that was already underway. After that window closes, the plan can redirect you to in-network providers and reinstate prior authorization requirements.
Private insurance plans vary, but many states have similar continuity of care laws. Call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask specifically: “My doctor is leaving the practice. Do I have continuity of care protections?” If you’re mid-treatment for something serious (chemotherapy, pregnancy, post-surgical recovery), these protections are especially important to understand before your next appointment.
Can You Follow Your Doctor?
Sometimes. If your doctor is moving to a new practice in the same area, you may be able to follow them. But many physician employment contracts include non-compete clauses that restrict a doctor from practicing within a certain distance of their old office for a set period, often one to two years. These agreements limit your doctor’s ability to set up nearby and, by extension, your ability to continue seeing them conveniently.
A few states have carved out exceptions. Indiana and Texas, for example, include provisions in their non-compete laws that specifically facilitate the continuation of established doctor-patient relationships. In practice, though, your departing doctor may not be able to tell you exactly where they’re going, at least not through official channels, due to the terms of their contract with the old practice. Some doctors find informal ways to let patients know. It’s worth asking directly.
If your doctor is moving far away or leaving clinical practice altogether, following them isn’t an option, and your energy is better spent finding the right replacement.
Choosing a New Doctor
Start with the practical filters: Does the doctor accept your insurance? Are they taking new patients? How far in advance do you need to book? These questions eliminate most candidates quickly. From there, consider whether you prefer a solo practitioner or a group practice (where someone is always available if your doctor is out), which hospital the doctor is affiliated with, and whether their office hours fit your schedule.
Board certification matters. It confirms a doctor has completed additional training and testing beyond medical school in their specialty. You can verify certification through the American Board of Medical Specialties website. Beyond credentials, think about communication style. Does the doctor take phone calls or answer emailed questions? Who covers after-hours concerns? What’s the process for urgent needs? These details shape your day-to-day experience more than a diploma on the wall.
If another doctor in the same practice is taking over your care, you don’t have to accept that assignment. You’re free to go elsewhere. But giving the new doctor one visit can be worthwhile, since they already have access to your chart and history within the same system.
If You Have a Chronic Condition
Transitions are riskiest for people managing ongoing health issues: diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cancer follow-up, mental health conditions. The information gap between your old doctor and your new one is where things fall through the cracks. Request that your departing doctor or their practice provide your new provider with a treatment summary, a current care plan, and notes on any specific aspects of your care that require specialized knowledge. Research on patients transitioning between providers for chronic conditions consistently identifies these three elements as critical for avoiding setbacks.
Before your first appointment with a new doctor, write down your current medications (names, doses, how long you’ve been on them), any recent lab work or imaging, and what your previous doctor was monitoring or planning next. Bringing this yourself, rather than relying solely on the records transfer, gives your new provider a head start and reduces the chance of duplicated tests or missed follow-ups.