This document was prepared by the APA Council on Psychiatry and Law and Corresponding Committee on Physician Health, Illness, and Impairment.

Approved by the Joint Reference Committee, June 2004

Psychiatrists are often called upon to evaluate a physician’s fitness for duty. Specific questions may center on the presence of psychiatric or neuropsychiatric impairment. In these cases, the psychiatrist may be asked to examine the physician, prepare a report of detailed diagnostic findings and treatment options, and offer an opinion regarding fitness for duty.