Discontinuance of the practice of dentistry - Termination of a dentist-patient

20-02-01-08. Discontinuance of the practice of dentistry - Termination of a dentist-patient relationship. 1. Dentists who are either discontinuing the practice of dentistry or who are discontinuing practicing within a particular community shall provide written notice to their active patients explaining the extent of the discontinuation. For the purpose of this section, "active patient" is defined as a individual whom the licensee has examined, treated, cared for, or otherwise consulted with during the two-year period prior to the discontinuation. a. In the event no other dentist is assuming the practice, the discontinuing dentist shall provide notice to all active patients in writing and also provide advance notice by publication once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the community where the dentist intends to discontinue the practice of dentistry. The discontinuing dentist shall make reasonable arrangements with active patients for the transfer of patient records to other dentists as requested by each patient. In the event no request for the transfer of records is made by a patient or the records are not provided directly to the patient, a discontinuing dentist shall have the ongoing 21 obligation of maintaining the patients records for at least two years in order to afford the active patients access to the records. b. In the event another dentist is assuming the discontinuing dentist's practice, the discontinuing dentist or the assuming dentist shall provide written notice to all active patients explaining the discontinuance of practice, identifying the dentist who is assuming the practice, and explaining the extent to which active patient records are being transferred to the assuming dentist. In the event of a nontransfer of records for any active patient, a discontinuing dentist shall have the ongoing obligation of at least two years to afford the discontinuing dentist's prior active patients access to those records not previously provided to the patient. 2. In the event of termination of a dentist-patient relationship by a dentist, notice of the termination must be provided to the patient. A dentist-patient relationship exists if a dentist has provided treatment to a patient on at least one occasion within the preceding year. The dentist who is the owner or custodian of the patient's dental records shall mail notice of the termination of the dentist's relationship to the patient, which must provide the following: a. The date that the termination becomes effective, and the date on which the dentist and patient relationship may resume, if applicable; b. A location at which the patient may receive emergency dental care for at least thirty days following the termination of the dentist and patient relationship; c. A statement of further dental treatment required, if any; and d. A statement providing the dentist shall respond to a written request to examine or copy a patient's record within ten working days after receipt. A dentist shall comply with North Dakota Century Code section 23-12-14 for all patient record requests. 3. If a dentist dies or becomes unable to practice dentistry due to disability, for the purpose of selling or otherwise disposing of the deceased or disabled dentist's dental practice, a person who is not licensed to practice dentistry but who is the personal representative of the estate of a deceased dentist or the personal representative of a disabled dentist may contract with a dentist to manage the dental practice for a period not to exceed two years. 4. If a dentist agrees to provide dental care without remuneration to underserved patients in the absence of a public health setting, the patient may not be considered a patient of record of the dentist providing the donated dental service. 5. If a dentist retires from a group practice and continuity of patient dental care is not interrupted, the dentist is exempt from notifying active patients in writing. The dentist shall, however, notify patients by publication once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the community in which the dentist intends to discontinue the practice of dentistry. History: Effective April 1, 2006; amended effective April 1, 2015; July 1, 2022; April 1, 2026. General Authority: NDCC 43-28-06 Law Implemented: NDCC 43-28-06, 43-28-18