California To end Physicians Monitoring Program

Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Attached some info regarding a very troublesome development in California.
Yours truly,
Bernd
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Calif. To End Program for Addicted Doctors
August 7, 2007
News Summary

The Medical Board of California has decided to end its diversion program for doctors who are grappling with addiction problems, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Aug. 5.

The decision came in the wake of a report that concluded that the 27-year-old diversion program didn't do enough for addicted doctors and failed to protect patients. The program is scheduled to end next June unless the board decides to somehow overhaul it.

If the program ends, California would be the only state in the U.S. without a diversion mechanism for addicted doctors.

Under the program rules, doctors who confidentially sought help with addiction problems could keep their licenses if they attended treatment and self-help groups, and submitted urine tests. The Medical Board appoints a monitor to keep track of their progress, but the report said oversight was lacking.

Research showed that about 18 percent of doctors who entered the program completed treatment, far short of the 90 percent completion rate in North Carolina, for example.

Jeoffry Gordon, a past president of the Medical Board, said the state should offer some type of treatment to doctors. Others suggested that physicians be barred from practicing for six months while they get treatment.
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