WPHP’s response to these concerns consists of the following:
- A practitioner who either refers themselves or is referred by a colleague to WPHP will not have their identity made known to the corresponding disciplinary authority as long as they are compliant with the recommendations of WPHP and do not constitute a clear and present danger to the public.
- WPHP provides advocacy and endorsement for clients following completion of treatment.
- WPHP clients are monitored in three ways: chemically, behaviorally, and at the worksite. This trimodal monitoring provides protection for both the practitioner and the practitioner’s patients.
- The Washington Physicians Health Program is defined by its contract with the Department of Health and applicable WACs and statutes:
Contract:
“WPHP contracts with the State of Washington Department of Health and is the qualified provider for potentially impaired physicians, physician assistants, osteopathic physicians, osteopathic physician assistants, podiatric physicians, dentists, and veterinarians and whose objective is to motivate healthcare practitioners to enter treatment and to recover from their illnesses and, in so doing, will serve to minimize the losses and other negative impacts that are caused by these illnesses.”
Statutes:
“The secretary shall adopt rules requiring every license holder to report to the appropriate disciplining authority any conviction, determination, or finding that another license holder has committed an act which constitutes unprofessional conduct, or to report information to the disciplining authority, an impaired practitioner program, or voluntary substance abuse monitoring program approved by the disciplining authority (WPHP), which indicates that the other license holder may not be able to practice his or her professional with reasonable skill and safety to consumers as a result of a mental or physical condition.” (RCW 18.130.070)
“License holders voluntarily participating in the approved programs without being referred by the disciplining authority shall not be subject to disciplinary action under RCW 18.130.160 for their substance abuse, and shall not have their participation made known to the disciplining authority, if they meet the requirements of this section and the program in which they are participating.” (RCW 18.130.175)
Under the provisions of this contract and these laws, WPHP is able to provide a confidential conduit for healthcare practitioners so that they can get the help they need for their mental or physical condition. WPHP provides these services as a therapeutic alternative to discipline.
In 2006, SHB 2974 was passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor. That legislation has resulted in the development of new language for mandatory reporting of unprofessional conduct and inability to practice with reasonable safety. The draft rule language for this new law, WAC 246-16-200 is available for review at the Department of Health website. At this time, WPHP does not believe that it will substantively affect the confidentiality of the healthcare practitioners reported to us.
WPHP’s approach to these problems of our fellow healthcare practitioners has been remarkably successful. Our results have been reported at the 2006 National Meeting of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the 2006 AMA/CMA International Conference on Physicians Health. In addition, our results have been reported as the lead article in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Domino, K., Hornbein, T., Polissar, N., Renner, G., Johnson, J., Alberti, S., & Hankes, L. (2005). Risk factors for relapse in health care professionals with substance use disorders. JAMA. 293:12, 1453-1460.
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