Depression Common in
Doctors, Getting Help Is Not

Even if physicians recognize that they are depressed, "there are all kinds of barriers to their seeking help, some of which are irrational," Dr. Herbert Hendin told Reuters Health.

"The result is that physicians are not seeking help because they're afraid of punitive consequences" in professional advancement, medical licensing, hospital privileges, and health and malpractice insurance, said Hendin, the medical director at AFSP.

In a consensus statement published in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Hendin and associates make several recommendations including encouraging physicians to "establish a regular source of healthcare and seek help for mood disorders, substance abuse, and/or suicidality," they write.

The panel also recommends more extensive education, both in medical schools and as part of continuing medical education, with emphasis on recognizing depression and suicidal tendencies in themselves, their peers and their patients.

"I'd like to see routine health questionnaires that ask about hypertension or diabetes also include the simple question, 'are you depressed?"' Hendin added.

The panel also advocates that licensing boards, accrediting organizations, employers and insurance carriers focus on the doctor's ability to function instead of the doctor's psychiatric diagnosis or treatment.

"Many states have shifted over from diagnosis-based questions to disability-based questions," said panel member Dr. Steven H. Miles of the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.

This would allow "for a much more supportive and confidential environment for doctors," he told Reuters Health.

But even now, one quarter of the states "have a system that creates tremendous disincentives to seek care that would decrease a physician's disability," he added.

The panel also advises that physicians educate themselves regarding state and federal protections for people with disabilities, including confidentiality of medical records and the legal rights of physicians receiving psychiatric treatment. One such mechanism is a Web site for physicians developed by AFSP at www.afsp.org/physician.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289:3161-3166.

Reference Source 89

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