Human Resources: Is Your Partner Impaired?
Don’t let denial blind you to a colleague’s substance abuse problem
By Bob Redling Maybe you heard about the anesthesiologist stealing fentanyl from the drug cabinet? Or the pediatrician lacing his morning coffee with brandy to take the edge off his daily hangover? Thanks goodness nothing like that happens in your practice.
Or does it?
Experts estimate that about 6 percent of physicians have drug problems and one in seven have problems with alcohol. That’s about the same rate as the general population, but doctors are held by the public to a higher standard.
Of course, substance abuse isn’t the only reason some physicians may put patients, reputations, and medical licenses at risk. Personality disorders, psychiatric illnesses, and emotional problems also can lead physicians to endanger patients with substandard care. Your practice may never have to deal with these problems among its providers, but if it does, preparation and swift action can save a lot of time and a ton of trouble. You might even save a colleague’s career.
“There’s never an easy situation and they are all heartbreaking,” says Joan Roediger, a partner with the Philadelphia-based law firm Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxell & Hippel LLP. “The light at the end of the tunnel is that if you handle these things correctly, what could have been a horror story will end up with a successful outcome.”
Many recovery programs have been designed specifically for physicians. But getting to that successful outcome is a lot harder if problems aren’t detected and addressed early. Too often they are not. Physicians tell their patients how to spot the early signs of substance abuse, stress, depression, and other health issues. But as practice partners, they sometimes fail to recognize or acknowledge those signs in their colleagues. After all, it’s easier in the short run to stand back and hope the problem with a colleague will resolve itself. Continued...
