Wyoming Administrative Code
Agency 052 - Medicine, Board of
Sub-Agency 0001 - Medicine, Board of
Chapter 3 - PRACTICE OF MEDICINE
Section 3-6 - Practice Coverage

The Board recognizes that patients often need help outside of regular office hours. However, since physicians cannot be continuously available to respond to patients and their emergencies, it is recommended that physicians provide their patients with instructions about what to do if they need help with their care and treatment when their physician is unavailable. Coverage arrangements should take into account the general nature, complexity and severity of the illnesses and the care and treatment in the patient population regularly seen and treated by the physician, as well as the availability of other providers qualified and available to respond to their patients' needs. Physicians should make reasonable efforts to arrange adequate and appropriate coverage for their practices and patients when the physician is unavailable. Physicians who do not have formal call coverage and who instruct patients to use a local emergency room for medical needs should confer with the medical director of the local emergency room to ensure that physicians and staff are able to communicate with the physician, or another provider qualified and available to respond to the patient's needs, about the care of their patients who may present for care at the facility. Failure to adequately address coverage needs of physician's patients may be grounds for the imposition of disciplinary action pursuant to W.S. 33-26-402.