An attorney just notified me of this letter submitted to the Department of Justice citing my 2019 journal article documenting widespread mental health discrimination by medical boards. Read letter below or download original document with citations here.
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Can depressed doctors get emotional help without license repercussions? Is it even possible for physicians to get confidential mental health care?
I just got this email from a physician:
“Hi Pamela, Wondering if I could curbside you on the topic of seeking mental health services as a physician.
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Dear Leigh,
Within days of your suicide, your friends reached out to me for help in sharing the truth of your life—and death. Then came this letter from your aunt:
My niece is a physician who died by suicide on 4/14/20 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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Shawn C. Kelley, M.D., died by suicide under the care of Washington State Physicians Health Program. She was referred to the WPHP based on one unsubstantiated allegation unrelated to patient care. Her husband shares his thoughts and experiences about the program tasked with protecting his wife—and he appeals for a more objective and transparent process for helping vulnerable physicians.
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Reprinted from Kernan Manion, MD @ Center for Physician Rights (CPR)
For those who are not yet aware of what PHPs (Physician Health Programs) do, they’re the agency that the state medical licensing board (MLB) contracts with to do its compulsory “fitness for duty” assessments when any concern is raised that the physician may have some significant impairment impacting their clinical performance.
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Physician-Friendly States for Mental Health: A Review of Medical Boards
Research Project by Pamela Wible, M.D., and Arianna Palermini, OMS2
© Copyright 2019
Read updated version of article (& download PDF) in peer-review journal dedicated to physician mental health.
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Watch TV special investigation on Physician Health Programs
SEGMENT #1—Doctors fear controversial program made to help them
SEGMENT #2 in series—Doctor left destitute after seeking help from physician health program
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Top 5 reasons doctors don’t seek mental health care
1. Lack of confidentiality. May have to turn over medical records to others who control your career.
2. State medical boards demand to know. May be excluded from practicing medicine in that state.
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Doctor revived after suicide. Here's what he says.
