Most insurance plans will cover either all or a portion of the treatment.
Content Reviewed By:
SUD treatment executive, national news contributor & keynote speaker.
Navigation:
- Overview
- Addressing Doctors’ Unique Challenges in Addiction Treatment
- Customized Clinical and Behavioral Treatment
- Compliance Fulfillment and Reinstatement Assistance
- Take Back Your Life and Your Career Starting Now
Overview
If you or your loved one are a doctor struggling with substance use disorder, you’re far from alone. In an unfortunate irony, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are among the professionals most vulnerable to alcohol and drug addiction. Some of the most recent domestic data available indicates that approximately 15% of healthcare professionals across the country will meet the criteria for substance use disorder at some point in their careers.1 Some international studies point to much higher rates among doctors in other countries.2
Other healthcare professionals, such as nurses, techs, and support staff face their unique risks to increased alcohol and drug abuse. In recognition of the unique and distinct vulnerabilities to addiction that physicians and other healthcare professionals face, some rehab centers have developed programs specifically to help this population heal from addiction, reclaim their careers and rebuild their lives.
Addressing Doctors’ Unique Challenges in Addiction Treatment
Extreme career-related pressure, increased access to prescription drugs, and untreated co-occurring mental health challenges are just a few of the factors that contribute to these increased risks.
On top of these immediate risks, concerns over professional and reputational damage and personal embarrassment often causes these issues to go unaddressed for years. At the same time, the longer addiction persists without intervention and treatment, the greater the risk to physicians’ health as well as their patients. At the same time, doctors very often define themselves by their careers and view any such threats to their professional status as existential.
To that end, it’s important that treatment programs not only focus on addressing the underlying issues that lead to addiction and provide clinical and behavioral care, but offer a path to professional redemption and the opportunity to get back in compliance so they can resume their careers in whatever capacity is possible.
Customized Clinical and Behavioral Treatment
Doctors can have multiple entry points into substance use disorder, the most common of which include prescription abuse3 and struggles with alcohol.4 These problems are not created in a vacuum, and it’s important that treatment address the core issues and behaviors that led to and sustained their substance use.
In addition to treating the immediate clinical and medical impact of prolonged and untreated addiction, treatment must also include in-depth behavioral therapy to help patients develop coping mechanisms and trigger-awareness that can help prevent relapse.
It’s also important that treatment be conducive to doctors’ professional and personal obligations whenever possible. While, in many cases, treatment may be court-ordered, the main treatment models that are available include:
- Inpatient and Residential – Usually reserved for more severe or higher-risk cases, residential treatment allows patients to get help in a comfortable, safe, discreet and distraction-free environment.
- Outpatient and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) – This model of treatment is often more preferable to doctors because it’s more conducive to their careers and personal obligations. It involves going to daily treatment programs and returning home each day after treatment.
These treatment models often include medical detox and withdrawal management as part of their overall care experience or they may partner with other entities to provide a full continuum of care. It’s important to note that the primary criteria for the model of treatment you or your loved one chooses should be based on your clinical needs first and foremost.
Compliance Fulfillment and Reinstatement Assistance
It’s an unfortunate fact that many doctors don’t get help until it directly threatens or affects their career. By this point, they may be facing disciplinary action from their state medical boards, federal authorities, their workplaces or all three. The good news is that medical regulatory and licensure authorities usually offer reinstatement opportunities for physicians who are compliant with their treatment plans.
Rehab programs for doctors often provide case management services that can help ensure compliance with treatment, assist with necessary paperwork, and interface with legal and regulatory authorities. This helps ease doctors of the anxiety and logistical burden of having to advocate for themselves as they endeavor to rebuild their careers.
IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT ENTERING TREATMENT AND SEEKING HELP WILL NOT, BY ITSELF, CAUSE YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONE TO LOSE YOUR MEDICAL LICENSE, BUT NOT GETTING HELP VERY WELL MAY.
Take Back Your Life and Your Career Starting Now
As a doctor, you got into medicine because you wanted to help people; right not that means getting help for yourself. Treatment can help you get back to the dedicated and capable healer that you were before alcohol and drug abuse took hold. Don’t let stigma, shame or fear of professional damage stop you from getting the help you need. There are more resources than ever to help medical professionals facing addiction and mental health challenges. Think about what you would tell your patients if they were facing similar struggles and get help now. Use our nationwide directory to locate rehab centers that help doctors with addiction.
References:
- Impaired healthcare professional
- Substance use among healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study in Kenya
- Reasons for Misuse of Prescription Medication Among Physicians Undergoing Monitoring by a Physician Health Program
- Characterization of Problematic Alcohol Use Among Physicians: A Systematic Review
