I am posting this as a topic of discussion mainly because of the claim in the article below, which appeared in the Los Angeles Times a while back, that up to 15% of physicians "... are drug addicts." That's quite shocking if true.
Fifteen percent?The article also claims that:
"A 2013 study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine revealed that 69% of doctors abused prescription medicine to relieve stress and physical or emotional pain."The article writer, a physician who admits to having had this problem himself, further points out that physicians who do have a substance abuse problem, and recognize that they do, "rarely seek help." That is because, he says, they know they will face "colossal stigma," along with the real possibility of losing their licenses. He adds that state medical boards often tend to react punitively toward such physicians, rather than supportively.
But, he adds, there is hope:
"As it turns out, physicians, once they get help, often excel at rehab. According to health service studies, we succeed at rates of 70% to 80%, which for addiction is astronomically high."And he recommends that:
"Instead of reflexively revoking or suspending licenses, state medical boards can usually ensure patient safety by keeping doctors at work under careful monitoring." If it's true, let's hope that 15% statistic decreases over time, as effective approaches to this problem are increasingly put into practice.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-grinspoon-addicted-doctors-20160605-snap-story.html