• Notify patients.
• Notify employees.
• Practice Change Sample Forms
• Evaluate the terms of the lease and give notice to landlord as required, or consider options to renegotiate if the lease is of longer duration than the time the physician wishes to remain in practice.
• Investigate sources to sell or dispose of medical and office equipment.
• Make arrangements to store or transfer custody of medical records.
• Inventory drugs and dispose, sell, transfer, or donate according to federal and state requirements. Contact the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for specifics.
• If the physician is retiring or relocating, notify DEA in writing and enclose DEA Controlled Substance Certificate and controlled substance order forms (cross out and write "void" on forms before sending).
• If changing office address, send letter to DEA six weeks in advance, notifying the agency of the change, along with old and new addresses. Mail to one of the following branches:

If the physician is retiring, send letter stating plans, along with Controlled Substance Registration Certificate, to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

• Send triplicate prescription forms to:
  Texas Department of Public Safety
  Triplicate Prescription Program
  PO Box 15999
  Austin, TX 78761
  (512) 424-2189

 A copy of triplicate forms must be retained for two years. 

If changing office address, notify the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Include full name and DPS number on all correspondence.

• Send information to:
  Texas Department of Public Safety
  Controlled Substance Registration
  PO Box 4087
  Austin, TX 78773-0001
  (512) 424-2188

If retiring, see "Texas Medical Board Annual Registration Rules" and "TMA Membership and Your Retirement". Further information concerning  registration rules .

If retiring or changing address, send written notification to:

• Texas Medical Board
  MC-240
  PO Box 2029
  Austin, TX 78768-2029
  (512) 305-7010
  Online form

Review the Texas Medical Board  rules on medical records .

Advise county medical society, specialty society, and the TMA and AMA membership departments of a change of address or retirement. TMA and AMA addresses are as follows:

• Texas Medical Association
  Attn: Membership Department
  401 W. 15th St.
  Austin, TX 78701-1680
  (512) 370-1300 or (800) 880-1300
  
• American Medical Association
  4 ^th Floor
  Department PBR (for retirement notification)
  Department PIP (for address change)
  515 N. State St.
  Chicago, IL 60610
  (312) 464-5000

If the physician has practiced under a name other than his or her own (e.g., "Doctor's Westside Clinic"), he or she should have filed an assumed name certificate with the county clerk. The physician should contact the county clerk to deactivate this assumed name if he or she is closing the practice without a buyer or if someone else is assuming the practice under that name.

If the physician is in solo practice as a professional association, a lawyer must file "Articles of Dissolution" with the Texas Secretary of State's Office in Austin. In addition, a lawyer or accountant should contact the comptroller of public accounts to pay any annual franchise taxes that may be due.

If the physician and other physicians have practiced as a professional association and the professional association will continue in existence after the physician's retirement or departure, shares of ownership must be transferred to another physician licensed in Texas. A lawyer should be consulted for this matter.

If the physician and other physicians have been practicing as a partnership (or have had an operating agreement like a partnership to share office space) and the partnership will continue after the physician's retirement or departure, then withdrawing from the partnership or otherwise transferring the partnership interest is necessary. The departing physician should consult a lawyer regarding this matter.

If the physician has operated X-ray and/or mammography equipment in the office, the physician holds a license from the Texas Department of State Health Services and must maintain a record of the transfer or disposal of such equipment. For details, contact:

• Radiation Control Program MC 2835
  Texas Department of State Health Services
  P.O. Box 149347
  Austin, TX 78714-9347
  (512) 834-6688     

Send written notification of retirement or a change of practice address to Medicare and Medicaid. Include the effective date of the retirement or address change. Information may be sent to the following addresses:

• Medicare:
  Trailblazer Health Enterprises, LLC
  Provider Services
  8330 LBJ Freeway, Executive Center III
  Dallas, TX 75243
  (469) 372-2609
  
• Medicaid:  
  Texas Medicaid and healthcare partnership
  Attn: Provider Enrollment Dept.
  PO Box 200795
  Austin, TX 78720-0795
  (800) 925-9126 use option 2
   or (512) 514-3000
  
• Tricare South (Humana Military Healthcare Services):  
  Contract Network Providers
  (800) 444-5445

Advise professional liability insurance carrier of the physician's change in status. If the physician has a "claims made" policy, consider purchasing additional insurance to cover claims that may be filed after the coverage lapses. (This additional insurance is known as a "tail policy . ") If the physician will be practicing part-time, insurance coverage may still be advisable. (See "TMA Insurance Information for Physicians Who Plan to Retire,") The Texas Medical Liability Trust maintains a liability insurance hotline to assist physicians in determining their insurance needs: (800) 880-8658.

Information on life, health, disability, and office overhead coverage also is available to TMA members through the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust, 401 W. 15th St., Austin, TX 78701-1680; (800) 880-8181.

For more information about the process, read  Transitions: Legal Considerations in Closing or Selling a Medical Practice .

NOTICE: Please check the Texas Medical Board Web site ( www.tmb.state.tx.us ) for current updates on its rules and policies with respect to this issue.