Relocating your practice

Determine your legal obligations and how it will impact others in your practice.

• Are you currently in a group? Review your group contract for your responsibilities when moving (e.g., notice period, contractual obligations, etc.). If you are part of a Family Health Organization, ensure your new location aligns with the co-location requirements (member-only content).
• Are you in a rental lease? Review your contract for your contractual responsibilities (e.g., notice period, penalty for breaking the lease)
• Do you employ staff? Will your move impact their employment status? If so, you must follow Ontario’s Employment Standards Act regarding termination notice/pay. Discuss the move with your staff prior to notifying your patients

Note: If you are moving to a new group and/or entering into a new lease agreement, OMA strongly recommends having your lawyer review the contract prior to signing it.

OMA Legal or your lawyer can provide guidance in understanding your legal responsibilities.

Notification

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario Closing a practice patient notification guidelines also apply for relocation of your practice.

You must provide your patients with at least 90 days' notice by letter, email, phone call or in person.

When considering which channel is best for you, consider the balance of time (visits/calls) and cost (postal mail). If possible, delegate notification to your office staff. Update your new location, on your website, voicemail, email signature and business letters.

You must take reasonable steps to arrange for the ongoing care of patients when a practice is relocated, and patients are unable or choose not to move with the practice.

You should notify other health-care professionals such as:

• Commonly referred/ referring physicians
• Hospitals/long-term care homes, where you have privileges (on-call group)
• Medical laboratories and diagnostic facilities
• Local pharmacies

Health Report Manager

Just like the post office, HRM needs to know where to deliver your reports.

Moving? Switching internet providers? Changing your internet plan? Choosing a new EMR?

These scenarios could potentially mean a change to your IT delivery address, disrupting your HRM feed and stopping your reports from hospitals and specialty clinics.

HRM only delivers to locations it trusts, so don’t forget to notify OMD at support@ontariomd.com when making a change.

They need a minimum of seven business days from the time they receive your complete request with a valid IP address to ensure you don’t experience any disruptions to report delivery.

Promotion

Depending on your new location, you may need to advertise in the new community.

• Use the OMA Practice Announcement Service to let other physicians in your area know about your relocation. One-page announcements are distributed to the OMA’s territorial divisions/branch societies via postal mail. There is a cost for this service. Specialists can indicate any subspecialties and provide a general timeframe for informing the referring doctor and/or patient
• Specialists could connect with local family physicians to inform them
• Family physicians could: 
  • Connect with pharmacies and diagnostic imaging centers in the community
  • Enroll in Healthcare Connect, a government initiative to connect family physicians and patients
  • Consider a mailout to the local community but be mindful of the cost
  • Ask patients to refer you and have signs in your office

Note: All promotional communication must adhere to CPSO's Advertising and Social Media guidelines.

• Notify OHIP: The Ministry of Health (OHIP office where you submit claims) requires 30 days advance notice of any changes to your banking arrangements, practice and/or mailing address. You will need to complete, print, sign and submit a change of address form to the ministry.
• Insurance: Contact your insurance provider to update your insurance.
• Cost of moving: You may want to discuss the potential impact of moving on your finances with your financial adviser. Consider:
  • The cost of moving (e.g. moving, cost of getting new furniture, cost of updating utilities, loss of income for a short period, as you settle)
  • The expenses of the two different sites (e.g., rent, utilities, property taxes)

You will need to notify any business vendors you work with. For example:

• Utilities (e.g., electricity, internet, water, telephone)
  • A big challenge when moving is the disruption that could affect patient results that arrive via fax and mail

Moving fax/phone lines: Work with your service provider to find ways to move the fax/phone line with as little or no interruption as possible (often when traffic is low). You will need to discuss how much downtime to anticipate and determine a plan for what happens to faxes that occur in the interim. Some options may include:

• Porting your fax line to an electronic service and not a fax machine.
• Contacting some of the major health-care providers (e.g., labs, hospitals) you liaise with and inform them of the expected disruption
• Canada Post
  • Request your mail be forwarded for a year. The year can also be used to reduce paper test results as much as possible. It may take several requests for some organizations to update your address/fax/phone numbers on their system
• Medical and office supply vendors (gloves, business cards, prescription pads, etc.)
• Linen service
• Janitorial service
• Landscaping service
• Hazardous waste removal service

You may need to determine what to do with your office equipment and furniture.

• Will you be taking it to your new location?
• If not, you may consider selling, donating or transferring it to other physicians

You must notify your professional associations of your new location of practice.

• Email OMA membership
• College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
• Canadian Medical Protective Association
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – for specialists
• College of Family Physicians of Canada – for family physicians
• Ontario College of Family Physicians – for family physicians
• Canadian Medical Association

OMA’s Starting a practice checklist can aid you as you set up your new location.

This may also be a great time to reflect on your practice and consider changes to improve efficiency in your clinic and/or implement a healthy work-life balance schedule.