Many Docs Don't Report On Addicted Colleagues

Survey: 17 percent know of an impaired, incompetent doctor at work

CHICAGO — Your doctor could be drunk, addicted to drugs or outright incompetent, but other physicians may not blow the whistle.

A new survey finds that many American physicians fail to report troubled colleagues to authorities, believing that someone else will take care of it, that nothing will happen if they act or that they could be targeted for retribution.

A surprising 17 percent of the doctors surveyed had direct, personal knowledge of an impaired or incompetent physician in their workplaces, said the study's lead author, Catherine DesRoches of Harvard Medical School.

One-third of those doctors had not reported the matter to authorities such as hospital officials or state medical boards. The findings, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, are based on a 2009 survey of 1,891 practicing U.S. doctors.

Reporting a problem doctor can trigger important changes. Twenty-one years ago, a colleague smelled alcohol on a young physician's breath and anonymously reported him to the head of the residency program. A now-sober Dr. A. Clark Gaither is grateful.

"I wish I knew who reported me," Gaither said. "I'd like to give them a big ol' hug and thank them for saving my life."

Programs exist for retraining doctors with weak skills and getting addicted ones into treatment. But the survey results suggest doctors are not confident in the system, DesRoches said.

GO HERE to read more.