It is frequently said that the primary role of a state medical regulatory board is to protect the public. Unfortunately, this concept has evolved in some regions suggesting there is a conflict between patients and their physicians.[1] In other words, the message can be sent that patients must be protected from physicians. Truly there haveRead More
Learn about kratom being prohibited by the DEA and then reversing its decision and why. Should we include kratom in health professional testing? February 23, 2020 Actual Case A 37-year-old anesthesiologist participating in residential treatment for opioid use disorder went on a therapeutic leave home to another during the third month of his treatment. UponRead More
Utilizing blood phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in abstinence monitoring programs (particularly with health professional, airline pilot, and/or other professional monitoring) as a means to detect relapse to alcoholic beverage use is a relatively new development over the past decade. PEth is a minor metabolite of ethanol formed when an enzyme, phospholipase D (PLD), binds ethanol to phosphatidylcholineRead More
Physician health programs (PHPs) provide state disciplinary authorities (medical boards) what wellbeing committees (WCs) provide for hospital disciplinary authorities (medical executive committees). The former regarding licensure and the latter hospital privileges, both necessary for most physicians to practice. In the few states, like California, with no PHP, wellbeing committees take on added responsibilities. In statesRead More
Studies have reported that the relapse rate of physicians with substance use disorders over a 5-year period following commencement of a monitoring agreement with a Physician Health Program (PHP) is about 20%. This is an impressive but overly simplistic statistic. What is relapse? Are there different severities of relapse? Should relapse be considered a failureRead More
It has become common in the treatment of substance use disorders to accept the idea of treating an individual at a lower (and less expensive) level of care with the plan that if they fail (i.e. relapse) that then, and only then, is a higher level of care warranted. This concept of “failing up” isRead More
California was one of the first states to develop a program for early detection and treatment of physicians with substance abuse problems, but the program was closed in 2007. Now, California is one of the only states lacking such a program. The result has been catastrophic for many physicians and their patients. Substance use disordersRead More
In Part I of this 2-part series on DUIs among physicians, I highlighted the fact that physicians are not immune from substance use disorders or DUIs. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 5.5% of health care workers in the U.S. had a current substance use disorder1 and numerous studies have shownRead More
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious crime and doctors, who seem to have about the same rate of substance use disorders as the general population, are not immune. The consequences for DUI have become more severe, especially for physicians and other licensed health professionals, particularly in some states. And forRead More
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