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Physicians’ willingness to report impaired colleagues
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Physicians’ willingness to report impaired colleagues

Neil J. Farber, Stephanie G. Gilibert, Brian M. Aboff, Virginia U. Collier, Joan Weiner and E. Gil Boyer
Social science & medicine (1982), v 61(8), pp 1772-1775
2005
PMID: 15882920

Abstract

Confidentiality, US Medical ethics Physician impairment Societal duty
We surveyed physicians to determine what factors were associated with their reporting of impaired colleagues to Physician Health Programs (PHPs). We conducted a cross-sectional mail survey of 1000 randomly selected practicing physicians in the United States. A survey instrument asked the physicians whether they would report 10 hypothetical impaired colleagues to a PHP. The results show that a majority of the physicians would report physicians to PHPs, but were more likely to report hypothetical physicians involved in substance abuse than those who were emotionally or cognitively impaired ( p < 0.001 ) . Respondents who felt they had a societal obligation as opposed to an obligation to protect the rights of the individual ( p = 0.006 ) were more likely to report hypothetical physicians. Those respondents who stated they knew of guidelines on reporting impaired physicians had more frequently reported impaired colleagues ( p < 0.001 ) . We conclude that physicians should be educated on the availability and functioning of PHPs and the ethical and legal obligations of assisting impaired colleagues.

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48 citations in Scopus

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Social Sciences, Biomedical
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