Terminating a Capitation Or Continuing Care Arrangement

TERMINATING A CAPITATION OR CONTINUING CARE ARRANGEMENT

FORM GP200

TERMS OF REFERENCE

In accordance with Paragraph 10, Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2010, as amended, (“the Regulations”), any dentist intending to withdraw from a capitation or continuing care arrangement for the following reasons should submit form GP200 to the Health Board:

Withdrawalin three months
Failure to make payment for treatment provided
Transfer to private agreement
Breakdown in dentist/patient relationship

Dentists can also withdraw from a capitation/continuing care arrangement immediately. This type of removal is covered separately below.

FORM GP200

Pads of the triplicate form are available to ordervia the stationery order form.

Please ensure that the forms are completed at Part 1, Part 2 and signed above Part 4. Completion of Part 3 is dependent upon the reason for withdrawal and guidance on this follows.

Completed forms should be sent to Primary Care Support Officer (Dental), Primary Care Services, Kirklands Hospital, Fallside Road, Bothwell, G71 8BB.

ACTION BY HEALTH BOARD

Upon receipt, the form will be checked to ensure that it has been fully completedand signed by the dentist. Please impress the dentist stamp separately on each copy (at Part 2) as it will not transfer through the NCR paper.

Withdrawal in three months

When a dentist indicatesin Part 3, Box 1 that they intend to withdraw from the arrangement in 3 months, they should also complete Box 5(a) or 5(b). Once checked we will sign the form off at Part 4and return the pink copy to the dentist requesting that they contact the patient to advise of their intentions to withdraw and the date it shall take effect.

2Failure to make payment

When a dentist indicates in Part 3, Box 2 that they wish to withdraw because the patient owes money, they should also complete Box 5(a) or 5(b). Once checked we will then process as follows.
We will write to the patient to advise them of the dentist’s wish to withdraw from the agreement due to non-payment for treatment provided. The patient is given two weeks to submit comments to the department and, if no response is received, a second letter is issued to the patient advising the date on which the agreement with the dentist shall terminate. At this point we will sign the form off at Part 4 and return the pink copy to the dentist for confirmation of the action taken.

A second step is required if the patient responds as we will share it with the dentist in order to seek their views as to whether the response or action proposed by the patient is sufficient for them to change their mind. Dependent upon the response we will either advise the patient that the matter will not proceed or process as above.

3Transfer to private agreement

If the agreement is to be terminated because the patient wishes to enter into a private treatment agreement with the dentist, the PCSO will check that the form has been signed at Part 3(b) by the patient. The PCSO then writes to the patient to advise the dentist has informed the Health Board of the patient’s desire to transfer to a private agreement, and providing the patient with two weeks to submit comments to Primary Care and, if no comment is received, a second letter is issued to the patient advising the date on which the agreement shall terminate.

4Breakdown in dentist/patient relationship

When a dentist indicates in Part 4 that they wish to withdraw because of a breakdown in the dentist/patient relationship, they should also complete Box 5(a) or 5(b). Once checked we will then process as follows.
We will write to the patient to advise them of the dentist’s wish to withdraw from the agreement. The patient is given two weeks to submit comments to the department and, if no response is received, a second letter is issued to the patient advising the date on which the agreement with the dentist shall terminate. At this point we will sign the form off at Part 4 and return the pink copy to the dentist for confirmation of the action taken.

If any patient chooses to make comment on any of the options for withdrawing from an arrangement which requires arbitration we have an agreement whereby the department can share all correspondence with members of the Local Dental Committee for consideration.

Upon completion of all procedures, the forms shall be signed at Part 4 by the department, who will forward the white copy to Customer Admininistration, Practitioner Services – Dental, Edinburgh, and return the pink copy to the dentist for retention.

Please note that should, following submission of any Form GP200, you wish to revoke your intention to remove a patient, you must notify the department in writing that you shall retain the patient on your list of registered patients. The form will be then be cancelled and returned to you for retention in the patient’s record card.

5Immediate removal

Paragraph 11, Schedule 1 of the Regulations allows dentists to withdraw immediately from an agreement where:

11(1)(a)a person, with whom a contractor has a continuing care arrangement or a capitation arrangement, has committed an act of violence against any dentist, dental care professional or any other person employed or engaged by the contractor or has behaved in such a way that such a person has feared for his or her safety; and

(b)the contractor or a person on the contractor’s behalf has reported the incident to the police

In the unfortunate even that you require to withdraw from an agreement immediately, you should contact the Primary Care department by telephone, email or fax to advise of your intentions, providing the patient’s name, address and date of birth. This will allow the PCSO to notify the patient in writing of the immediate termination of capitation/continuing care agreement, which shall be shared with Customer Admin, Practitioner Services – Dental, Edinburgh and the Director of the Public Dental Service.
Please note, however, that whilst the regulations permit notice of this type of removal by any means including telephone, e-mail or fax, but if not given in writing shall subsequently be confirmed in writing before the end of the period of seven days beginning with the date of the notification was made. For this purpose a faxed or e-mailed confirmation is not a written one so you should use form GP200 and submit it within seven days of your initial notification to the department. Upon receipt of the form, the PCSO shall forward the white copy to Customer Admin and return the pink copy to the dentist.

Please note that if you become aware of a patient’s death, you should submit form GP200 advising you wish to withdraw because the patient is deceased. The form will then be signed off by PCSO and the pink copy returned to you for retention.

All yellow copies of the GP200 are retained electronically by Primary Care.