Helping Physicians Heal

What is the Tennessee Medical Foundation Physician’s Health Program?

How Does the Physician’s Health Program Work?

Family Support

Helping Physicians Heal

We expect a lot from our physicians. They are constantly under pressure to perform and when making decisions that will affect the health and well-being of their patients, there is no room for error.

However, physicians are human too. The difference is when physicians suffer from mental, emotional or addictive challenges, it not only jeopardizes their careers and their personal lives-it also poses a serious threat to patient safety.

The public has little understanding of troubled physicians and programs that help treat them. Fortunately our Physician’s Health Program addresses concerns that are specific to physicians; concerns only those within the medical profession can appreciate.

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What is the Tennessee Medical Foundation Physician’s Health Program?

The mission of the Physician’s Health Program (PHP) is to protect patients through identification, intervention, rehabilitation and the provision of advocacy for physicians impaired by addictive disease, mental or emotional illness.

In response to requests from hospitals, physician groups and family members, the Tennessee Medical Foundation reshaped the program to assist physicians, their families, and hospitals with a wider range of problems, to include mental health issues.

The PHP has been instrumental in assisting medical schools in Tennessee with programs targeted at medical students and residents. These programs are primarily educational, but they also aid medical school faculty in identifying students and residents afflicted with the disease of chemical dependency.

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How Does the Physician’s Health Program Work?

Identification
The Tennessee Medical Foundation (TMF) maintains a 24-hour phone line for family members, patients, and co-workers to report, confidentially, their concerns about a physician.

Verification
The TMF PHP medical director and / or case managers attempt to verify the reported behavior. If the behavior is not verified, the process is halted or the information is held for further inquiry.

Interview
If the need for help is substantiated, the physician is asked to make an appointment for an interview with TMF PHP personnel. In exchange for support, the physician is invited to follow the recommendations of the PHP in seeking specified treatment at his or her own expense.

Treatment
All treatment is carried out in approved hospitals and treatment facilities. The length of treatment is based upon the physician's individual needs. Physicians affected by other emotional or behavioral conditions are treated with an initial evaluation and subsequently prescribed inpatient and / or intensive outpatient therapy.

Re-Entry
Re-Entry into practice usually occurs within one or two weeks following treatment. During this period, the PHP is often the physician’s strongest – and sometimes only- ally. The PHP medical director and case managers work in concert with the treatment center’s recommendations to establish contractual ground rules for re-entry into practice.

Aftercare
Aftercare is a minimum five-year process. It is guided by an individualized contract, comprised of recommendations of the PHP and the treatment facility.

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Family Support

Chemical dependency and mental or emotional illnesses affect entire families, not just individual physicians. The PHP has recognized the need for an active and comprehensive program for family members, which at a minimum includes:

1. Families of newly identified physicians are provided opportunities to receive help through support programs, sponsoring families, and professional therapist.
2. Caduceus Al-Anon groups are available. Meetings are held on a regular basis for the purpose of self-help and group therapy.

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