THE IMPAIRED PHYSICIAN

AAOS ETHICS COMMITTEE

Timothy C. Wilson, MD

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Objectives

• Identify the ethical implications of dealing with an impaired physician

• Understand the legal issues regarding impaired physicians

• Consider the appropriate response when dealing with an impaired colleague

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Case 1You are a junior resident taking call at a children’s hospital. A child presents to the emergency room with an open ankle fracture from an ATV accident. You call your attending, Dr. Baker, and he returns your call after a Keith Brofsky/Photodisc/Thinkstock Photos

delay stating he has been having dinner with the invited speaker for tomorrow’s grand rounds.

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You make arrangements to get the patient to the operating room toperform the emergent surgery.

When the attending arrives, you smell alcohol on his breath. He proceeds to thescrub sink. It is obvious that he is Medioimages/Photodisc/Thinkstock Photos

impaired.4

What do you do?

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You believe that you have a great relationship with Dr. Baker. Youdecide to ask him if it would be OK to call one of the other attendings to take the case since he has been out to dinner, and the presence of alcohol on his breath might tetmc/iStock/Thinkstock Photos concern the family.Dr. Baker, doesn’t agree and says no.

Medioimages/Photodisc

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Now what do you do?

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After Dr. Baker’s refusal to step aside, you decide to let the anesthesiologist, Dr. Kramer, know about the situation. You hope thatDr. Kramer will talkto Dr. Baker as a colleague. If Dr. Baker continuesto deny the problem,Dr. Kramer can stop iStock/Thinkstock Photos

the case until another attending isable to be there.

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What was your ethical duty?

Do you know of any specific ethical or legal guidance that applies to this situation?

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Dr. Kramer speaks with Dr. Baker and urges him to withdraw from this case. Finally, Dr. Baker agrees not to perform the surgery but continues to denythat he is impaired. Another attending surgeon is called in. tetmc/iStock/Thinkstock.com After the surgery is completed, you and Dr. Kramer discuss the events of the evening and what you should do next.

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What are the legal implications of this scenario?

What are the reporting obligations in this case?

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Case 2After residency you and a fellow resident, Dr. Kean, join a large group practice. During your second weekat work you observe that Dr. Keanhas been coming to the office late. Nurses comment on seeing him intoxicated at several parties. monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock Photos

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You have personally observed him make some questionable decisions regarding patient care. Althoughyou have known Dr. Kean for many

years and have seen him drink socially, you have never observed him to be

impaired at work before.

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What is the difference between social and impaired alcohol consumption?

What is your ethical duty in this case?

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What specific ethical or legal guidance applies to this situation?

What resources exist to help an impaired physician?

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Ethical GuidanceCode of Ethics of the American Medical Association

“It is unethical for a physician to practice medicine while under the influence of a controlled substance, alcohol, or other chemical agents which impair the ability to practice medicine.” Opinion 8.15

“Physicians have an ethical obligation to report impaired, incompetent, and/or unethical colleagues in accordance with the legal requirements in each state”…Opinion 9.031

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ResourcesForty-three states and the District of Columbia have Physician Health Programs (PHPs). These PHPs are typically sponsored by the state medical societies. If a physician voluntarily contacts a PHP, they will typically serve as an advocate on behalf of the physician before the state licensing board. Contacting a PHP to report an impaired colleague can be done anonymously.

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Summary•The first case was an extreme example of an impaired physician. In most cases the presentation is more subtle and more complex.

•The basic principles of protecting the patient and making a report in good faith should always prevail.

•Physicians should be proactive in taking care of themselves and colleagues in order to take better care of their patients.

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ReferencesBoisaubin EV, et al. Identifying and assisting the impaired physician. Am J Med Sci 2001; 322:31-6.http://www.impairedphysicians.org

Blair M: Impaired Physicians blog.http://www.impairedphysicians.org

Ross, Stephen: Identifying an impaired physician. Virtual Mentor. December 2003; 5:12.

Glasson J, Plows C, Clarke O, Ruff V, Fuller D, Kliger C et al: Disputes between medical supervisors and trainees. JAMA 1994: 272(23):1861-5.

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Code of Ethics and Professionalism for Orthopaedic Surgeons, I.A., II.C., II.D., II.E. Adopted October 1988, revised 2011. http://www.aaos.org/about/papers/ethics/code.asp

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Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs: Code of Medical Ethics, Opinions 8.15, 9.0305, 9.031. Chicago, IL, American Medical Association, ed 2014–2015.http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion9031.page

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Standards of Professionalism on Providing Musculoskeletal Services to Patients, Mandatory Standards 1, 11, and 12. Adopted April 18, 2005, amended April 24, 2008.http://www3.aaos.org/member/profcomp/provmuscserv.pdf

Lo B: Resolving Ethics Dilemmas, A Guide for Clinicians, ed 5.Philiadelphia, PA, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013.

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