Licensure and Renewal Healthcare licensees may now renew their license online using a Visa or MasterCard credit card. Using Online Licensing users can now: Renew professional licenses. Update address of record. Provide emergency contact information. Request duplicate licenses issued through the Department of Health Professions. To learn more, please visit: http://www.dhp.state.va.us/mylicense/renewalintro.asp If you have any questions about renewing your license, call (804)-367-4444. The Health Professions Call Center is available to assist you Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time or send an email to CallCenter@dhp.virginia.gov. Checklist for Closing your Practice / Retiring from Practice The Virginia Academy of Family Physicians publishes a checklist for the retiring physician. Click here to download the document. Terminating the Patient/Physician Relationship Once a patient-physician relationship is begun, a physician generally is under both an ethical and legal obligation to provide services as long as the patient needs them. There may be times, however, when you may no longer be able to provide care. It may be that the patient is noncompliant, unreasonably demanding, threatening to you and/or your staff, or otherwise contributing to a breakdown in the patient-physician relationship. Or, it may be necessary to end the relationship simply due to relocation, retirement, or unanticipated termination by a managed care plan and/or employer. Regardless of the situation, to avoid a claim of "patient abandonment," a physician must follow appropriate steps to terminate the patient-physician relationship. Click here for guidance in this type of situation. DEA Licensure Save time by applying for and/or renewing your DEA Registration on-line at http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/online_forms.htm. Managed Care Contracts Today, in response to the demands of managed care, licensed health providers have become increasingly dependent upon managed care contracts with managed care organizations to market their services. These contracts, while contributing to the provider’s patient base, introduce new legal, contractual, and financial risks that the provider must consider. This article reviews important contract provisions that must be clarified, revised, and finalized to the satisfaction of the provider and his or her legal counsel, before “signing on the dotted line.” A Check List For Reviewing Managed Care Contracts