My feeling is that if a patient is leaving, the few dollars that are collected are simply NOT WORTH IT. The current patients are held waiting for help at the counter (or wherever) while they perceive that you are making it hard for someone to get the records. (For what? $5.00?) The staff that are put in the position of holding the patients records hostage for the $5.00 are sometimes put in a bad mood by the stressful encounter and carry this to the next phone call or patient, with predictable results.
I even believe your last shot at free advertising is when the doctor shopping patient is hassling the NEXT office, and makes the comment, (in a big huff) "Well! I never had a problem like this at Dr. Sechrist's office."
No, I don't want the doctor shopper back, but there is always a chance that other patients who have been waiting an hour in the new doctors waiting room are thinking of making a change....
