Physician Health Programs

This Resource Document aims to highlight some important safeguards and best practices for Physician Health Programs (PHPs) for physicians who seek help voluntarily from PHPs as well as those who are mandated participants. These suggestions are intended to help PHPs and their affiliates to align their practices and procedures with the goals of treatment and to minimize the risk of adverse outcomes, both for the public and for the physicians who participate in PHPs.

Syringe Exchange Programs

According to the office of the United States Surgeon General, syringe exchange programs are an effective public health intervention strategy that reduces the transmission of HIV and hepatitis. Syringe exchange programs do not encourage the use of illegal drugs, but seek to prevent the harm caused by unsafe drug use.

Position Statement on Xenophobia, Immigration, and Mental Health

Position Statement on Xenophobia, Immigration, and Mental Health

Position Statement on College and University Mental Health

Position Statement on College and University Mental Health

Position Statement on Separation of Children and Adolescents from Adult Patients in State Mental Hospitals

Position Statement on Separation of Children and Adolescents from Adult Patients in State Mental Hospitals

Ethics at the Interface of Religion, Spirituality, and Psychiatric Practice

Historically, psychiatry has had a fraught relationship with religion. One example can be found in the writings of Sigmund Freud, who was dismissive of religion and viewed it as a form of mental illness, drawing parallels between the rituals of obsessional patients and those of very religious people (Breakey 2001). However, there are also works throughout history demonstrating the harmonious relationship between psychiatry and religion, suggesting that the notion of an adversarial relationship b

The Interface of Religion, Spirituality, and Psychiatric Practice

Psychiatry has historically been known to have an adversarial relationship with religion. One example can be found in the writings of Sigmund Freud, who was dismissive of religion and viewed it as a form of mental illness. Freud drew parallels between the rituals of obsessional patients and those of very religious people and concluded that religion was a universal obsessional neurosis (Breakey 2001). However, there are also works throughout history demonstrating the harmonious relationship betwe

Position Statement on Reducing the Burden of Treatment Plan Documentation

Position Statement on Reducing the Burden of Treatment Plan Documentation

Position Statement on Racism and Racial Discrimination in the Psychiatric Workplace

Position Statement on Racism and Racial Discrimination in the Psychiatric Workplace

Position Statement on Banning of Pharmacy Benefit Management Policies that Require the Provision of Dangerous Quantities of Medications

Position Statement on Banning of Pharmacy Benefit Management Policies that Require the Provision of Dangerous Quantities of Medications

Suicide in Communications and Media

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Research demonstrates that how media reports on suicide and suicide attempts may either increase contagion risk or decrease the risk of future suicide attempts, rendering the issue a matter of public health and safety.

Physician Health Programs in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders in Physicians

In 1974, the American Medical Association (AMA) acknowledged physician impairment from alcoholism and drug dependence occurs, and recognized alcoholism and addiction as illnesses. Physician illness and impairment exist on a continuum with illness typically predating impairment, often by many years. This is a critically important distinction. Illness is the existence of a disease. Impairment is a functional classification and implies the inability of the person affected by disease to perform spec