When Doctors Battle Addiction In Themselves

 

What Happens When Doctors and Physicians Become Addicted to Drugs and Alcohol?

Where do doctors turn for help when they find themselves spinning out of control with the abuse of drugs and alcohol and subsequent addiction? There are specialized programs for recovery and addiction treatment that are aimed towards physicians and doctors especially; these programs are called Physician Health Programs (PHPs). 

PHPs were created to better help doctors and physicians not only treat their addictions and substance abuse problems, but more to help them realize and admit that they have a problem. In the past, many doctors struggling with substance abuse and addiction kept the problem hidden from everyone else, or couldn't bring themselves to admit that they had a problem; this is mostly due to fear of stigmatization, loss of employment, loss of patients and clients, and humility. State PHP programs help these doctors to actualize the problem, admit that it is a problem, allows them to seek recovery and treatment, and to seek recovery under strict confidentiality.

Due to the confidentiality of these PHPs many doctors struggling with abuse and addiction are more prone to come clean about their addictions and actually seek help for the problem -- instead of hiding their problem or trying to address it without the help of other professionals. These programs and their confidentiality are helping to not only save the lives of the doctors struggling with drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, but also the lives of their patients -- who are at increased risk of harm or death from mistakes made in their own healthcare.

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Where Doctors Go For Addiction Treatment

Doctors and other health care providers are not immune to additions.  In fact, doctors can be even more at risk for addictions than professionals in other careers.  This is due, in part, to the work stress, odd hours, and easy access to prescription medications and narcotics.

Physician Health Programs, or PHPs for short, were initially created to help addicted doctors.  However, since their inception in the late 1970s, these programs have gained a broader base.  They now serve other health care professionals, such as veterinarians, dentists, and pharmacists.  Their scope is not just limited to addiction, but also includes professional boundary issues, physical disabilities, cognitive disorders, disruptive behaviors, and other psychiatric disorders. 

Recently, several states have done away with their PHPs, with the mindset that addicted doctors should be treated punitively and not given the opportunity for rehab.  Currently only four states do not have a PHP; California, Georgia, Nebraska and Wisconsin.  In these states doctors are forced to find resources and help on their own.  This can cause some doctors to hide their addictions and not seek the help that they need.  In turn, some patients may also suffer.
However, in states where there are still viable PHPs, a doctor can volunteer to utilize the program, or be reported by a colleague or employer.  Family members and even patients can also report a physician to a PHP.  For slightly more than half of doctors enrolled in a PHP, their cooperation is formally required by the licensing board, employer, malpractice insurance agency, or another organization. 

Many physicians begin a PHP in order to protect their jobs or their license.  However, in working with their peers and attaining healing their motivation can change from one of protection to wanting to change their lives.  Amazingly, between 75 and 85 percent of physicians who complete a PHP are able to return to work and remain addiction free.  An assessment is formally required prior to returning to work. The circumstances are different for each doctor.  Some may be able to return to work right after the completion of a PHP, while others may need additional time off for other therapy or out-patient rehabilitation.  Still others may need to change their specialty field before going back to work.  Only a marginal percentage will not be able to return to practicing medicine.  Recent studies show that even addiction anesthesiologists are able to successfully complete a PHP addiction program and return to work without poor outcomes. 

If you or someone you know is in the medical field and has an addiction, do not be afraid to contact the PHP or another resource in your state.  Addiction goes much deeper than an actual substance or activity.  There is emotional and relational work to be done to get to healing.  A PHP can help immensely with this process. Follow us for more up to date information on doctors and addiction.

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