Family Medicine Physicians With Substance Use Disorder: A 5-year Outcome Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Research
• Physician Well-being
• Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Background:

• Limited evidence exists on the performance of family medicine physicians (FMPs) with substance use disorder (SUD) within Physician Health Programs (PHPs).
• Understanding these outcomes is crucial for supporting physician recovery and ensuring patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the outcomes of FMPs with SUD to non-FMP physicians in PHPs.
• To examine relapse rates, contract completion, and employment status at 5 years.

Main Methods:

• A 5-year longitudinal cohort study of 904 physicians diagnosed with SUD admitted to 16 state PHPs (1995-2001).
• Comparison of 175 FMPs against 687 other physicians.
• Outcome measures included relapse, successful monitoring contract completion, and licensed/employed status at 5 years.

Main Results:

• FMPs demonstrated comparable success rates to other physicians in relapse and employment/licensure at 5 years.
• A notable difference was observed in the successful completion of monitoring contracts, with FMPs showing lower rates.

Conclusions:

• FMPs with SUD generally perform as well as their non-FMP counterparts in PHPs over a 5-year period.
• FMPs' lower likelihood of completing monitoring contracts warrants further investigation and targeted support strategies.