Difficulty in Detecting Drug Abuse in Healthcare Professionals

Many people seem to be reluctant to discuss the subject of addiction, especially when it refers to people in the medical profession. Because it is a taboo subject, evaluating the number of people in the medical profession who are actually addicted to a controlled substance is difficult to evaluate. It seems as if there is always rumors and gossip, but to access the true facts is a slow process.

Estimates are 10 to 15% of all healthcare professionals are misusing drugs at some times in their careers. This is the same numbers that apply to the general population. While medical professionals abuse drugs at the same percentage rate as the general population, their choice of addictive substances is different. Healthcare professionals tend to use benzodiazepines and opiates. Use of recreational drugs such as marijuana and cocaine is lower than in the general population.

To make the situation more critical, drug abuse by healthcare professionals seems to be more difficult to detect. One reason it may not be detected is that among healthcare professionals, job performance seems to be the last thing that is affected. In the general population, employers are taught to look for signs of abuse, such as personal slovenliness, increased absenteeism or a decline in job performance. In healthcare professionals, problems show up on the job only after finances have been destroyed, families are alienated and the abuser has dropped out of their customary recreational activities. It may be possible that healthcare professionals miss less work because they get their drugs at work.

There also seems to be the problem of healthcare professionals watching for signs of addiction in their patients, but are reluctant to apply the same principals to colleagues.

Among physicians, drug abuse seems to occur in some specializations more readily. The factors seem to be access to drugs, the personality types certain specialties attract and the amount of job stress. Emergency medicine specialists, psychiatrists, and anesthesiologists have the highest rate of drug abuse, while pediatricians, pathologists, radiologists, and obstetrician/gynecologists have the lowest.

Most healthcare professionals who get "caught" are treated as patients instead of like criminals, which may or may not be a contributing factor. The focus is on assistance and rehabilitation rather than on discipline and punishment. The goal is to assist the medical professional in regaining their optimal professional functioning. In fact, more and more State Boards governing the health professions is promoting de-criminalizing drug abuse by healthcare professionals.

Once a healthcare professional enters a treatment program, their chances for a complete recovery is very high. The Farley Center and Williamsburg Place provides affordable, individualized care in a relaxing residential atmosphere. Respected nationally by the healthcare community, twenty five percent of patients are referred by noted physicians. Unlike most centers, The Farley Center and Williamsburg Places offers full time, on-site physicians whose patient roster is small, allowing for effective, one-on-one care and commitment to healing body and spirit. For more than 15 years they have assisted thousands of good people who simply wish to get well.

Karen Vertigan Pope writes for Ciniva Systems, an award winning Virginia web design company. Ciniva specializes in web design and SEO. Ms. Vertigan Pope is an SEO Specialist with Ciniva. Ciniva Systems is in charge of SEO for the Farley Center and Williamsburg Place.

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