Most practitioners have a document called a contingency plan. Far fewer have one that would actually work in practice. This article outlines the essential components of a functional, lawful, and implementable plan that protects patients, referrers, families, and the practitioner’s professional responsibilities.
Many practitioners believe they have a contingency plan because they have written down a few instructions about cancelling appointments or notifying patients. In reality, a functional plan goes far beyond a list of tasks. It must be implementable by someone else, under pressure, at a time when the practitioner is unavailable and possibly unable to provide clarification.
A contingency plan is not a document. It is a system. And that system needs to be clear, lawful, accessible, and practical.
This article outlines the essential components of a working contingency plan and highlights the areas practitioners most commonly overlook. When done well, a contingency plan ensures patients are informed and their records are protected, reduces the burden on loved ones, and supports ethical and professional responsibilities.
Clear triggers for activating the plan
A contingency plan should begin by defining when it should be activated. Ambiguity creates delays. Delays create risk.
Common triggers include sudden illness or injury, unexpected hospitalisation, incapacity or inability to practise, emergencies or crises affecting the practitioner, failure to attend appointments without explanation, or inability to communicate with patients or colleagues for a defined period.
A designated person should know they are authorised to activate the plan once these triggers occur. This prevents days of uncertainty during which patients remain uninformed.
Access and permissions for essential systems
A contingency plan cannot operate if the people implementing it cannot access the systems that hold your practice together.
Practice management system access
Someone must be able to cancel appointments, notify patients, suspend online bookings, generate reports for record counts, and access billing information. Without admin-level access to your practice management system, even the most detailed plan cannot be carried out.
Templates and documents
Templates should be pre-written and stored in an accessible, secure location — patient notification templates, referrer notification templates, and Medicare or billing instructions. When people are under pressure, pre-written templates prevent errors and omissions.
A detailed patient notification process
Patients should be notified promptly, compassionately, and consistently. A good plan includes who sends the notifications, what wording should be used, how to communicate estimated time away if known, instructions for patients who require urgent or crisis support, and guidance to contact their GP for interim support.
For extended absences, patients may also need information about referral options, guidance on transferring to a new treating practitioner, and information about requesting access to their health records.
Referrer and stakeholder communication
If the absence is expected to continue for several weeks or longer, relevant referrers should be notified — including GPs, psychiatrists, NDIS support coordinators, and case managers. Referrers may need to monitor patients more closely, redirect referrals, or provide interim oversight until the practitioner’s status becomes clear.
Medicare, billing, and financial processes
A functional plan must include clear instructions on assisting patients with outstanding Medicare rebates for sessions already attended but not yet processed, issuing refunds for sessions charged but not delivered, managing prepaid sessions, and suspending automated billing or subscription-based payments. These tasks protect patients and reduce unnecessary financial distress.
Record management instructions
Record management is the most legally sensitive and most frequently misunderstood element of a contingency plan.
Who has lawful authority to access records
Only the practitioner or an authorised representative may lawfully access or manage patient health records. Colleagues cannot store or manage records without consent and lawful authority. Admin staff cannot export or transfer records unless specifically authorised under privacy law.
How records will be retained, stored, and accessed
The plan should specify the secure storage location, retention periods based on state and territory law, record export processes, and instructions for handling retrieval requests from patients or their representatives.
Who becomes the custodian if the absence becomes permanent
Custodianship is not a casual favour. Your plan should identify the designated custodian — who must be lawfully authorised to act in that role — along with their responsibilities, how they will manage retrieval requests, and how storage and retention will be handled. Families should never be left to figure this out alone.
What a contingency plan does not cover (and what belongs in a professional will)
Practitioners often assume all business and administrative details belong in the contingency plan. In practice, a contingency plan addresses clinical and administrative obligations relating to patients and records. A professional will or business continuity file covers the broader practice infrastructure.
The following items do not belong in a contingency plan but should be documented in a professional will:
- Landlord contact details, lease agreements, and access instructions for clinic premises
- Website host and domain registrar details
- Non-clinical software subscriptions and IT support provider
- Accountant, bookkeeper, and solicitor contacts
- Executor or legal representative details
- Business insurance providers and banking institutions
- Steps for dissolving or suspending the business entity
- Professional membership organisations and CPD logs
- Information required to notify AHPRA or relevant regulatory bodies
These items sit outside the contingency plan because they relate to business affairs, not clinical and administrative responsibilities to patients. Together, the contingency plan and the professional will form a complete picture of what needs to happen if the practitioner cannot act. Each document serves a different audience and purpose.
Instructions for families or executors
Family members should not be expected to navigate complex clinical systems under pressure. Your plan should provide them with clear guidance on their lawful role, who to contact, what they are not permitted to do (for example, access patient health records without authority), where official documents are stored, and who will manage record custodianship. This reduces confusion and prevents accidental breaches.
Temporary absence vs permanent closure pathways
A working plan must distinguish between two different scenarios.
Temporary absence
The plan should cover cancelling appointments, communicating the expected return time, and providing patients with guidance for interim support during the practitioner’s absence.
Permanent cessation
A permanent closure pathway must cover formal closure notifications, initiating record custodianship, suspending or closing booking systems, informing referrers of permanent exit, and retaining and securely storing patient health records. The point at which a temporary absence becomes a permanent closure should be defined clearly within the plan.
Where the plan is stored and who holds copies
A contingency plan must be secure, easy to locate, accessible to the person responsible for implementing it, and known to the executor or legal representative. Outdated, hidden, or inaccessible plans offer little protection when they are needed most.
Regular updates and review schedule
A plan is only as strong as its accuracy. Review your plan annually, when changing practice management or booking systems, when modifying your service structure, when preparing for retirement, and after major life events.
Why a comprehensive contingency plan matters
A well-structured contingency plan protects patient rights and obligations, reduces clinical and ethical risk, supports lawful handling of patient health records, prevents administrative chaos, reduces distress for families, supports referrers, and upholds professional integrity. It ensures your practice can be managed with clarity and dignity — even when you are unavailable.
Disclaimer: This article contains general information only and should not be taken as legal advice. Practitioners should seek independent legal advice regarding record-keeping, privacy obligations, contingency planning, and all other aspects of their practice.