One of the reasons it’s so expensive to go to a doctor or hospital is apparently related to the high fees they pay for malpractice insurance. We have apparently turned into a suit-happy population, eager to seek compensation through legal means. However, while reading an article today about the number of doctors who have substance abuse problems, I wondered how many of the doctors making those errors are on drugs or alcohol and should be in a drug rehab program.

According to the article, 10 percent of American’s doctors have a substance abuse problem and 1 percent – about 8,000 - is in confidential alcohol or drug rehab programs.

California authorities investigated this confidential approach to determine if it was actually rehabilitating doctors or protecting patients. The investigators found it was not, and the program is therefore being cancelled in June.

Why is the program unsuccessful? First, some of the doctors were found to not actually be following the rules. Although the program requires that someone be assigned to ensure they’re doing so, some of the docs assign their employees as their ‘watchdog’. The employees are then told to lie, and threatened with losing their jobs if they don’t.

The other reason is undoubtedly the lack of success of out-patient programs in general. While some people make it with these programs, longer term residential alcohol and drug rehab is acknowledged as the most successful. However, doctors undergoing treatment usually continue to practice while in treatment and, therefore, do not go into residential alcohol or drug rehab.

I assume doctors choose out-patient alcohol and drug rehab so they can stay in business. Any practice, any business for that matter, suffers when they basically close up shop for a few months. Some patients will come back to the doc afterwards, but some will opt to stay with the doctor they went to in their own doctor’s absence.

However, good doctors are always in demand: While being out of the office for a few months might cause a few blips in the radar, it is unlikely to destroy the practice of a good doctor. After all, the majority of his patients probably wouldn’t even need to see him during that time.

No one has said yet whether or not California will resort to their zero tolerance approach to alcohol and drug abuse – you lose your license immediately once the medical board determines you have a drug problem – but one thing is certain: More doctors are going to be looking for a successful drug rehab in California in the near future.
 

Popularity: 6% [?]