Addiction in anesthesiologists: drug access and patterns of substance abuse

Impaired anesthesiologists (IAs) seen by the Medical Association of Georgia Impaired Physicians Program were compared to all other impaired physicians seen by the program. Anesthesiologists were the specialists most overrepresented in the program. When each IA was matched to a control with respect to age, sex, race, professional activity status, and year of admission to the program, the IAs were found to be more likely to abuse drugs than alcohol, to abuse narcotics, and to abuse drugs intravenously. The authors recommend tighter control of narcotics and surveillance of all anesthesia personnel in order to reduce the risks to patients associated with chemical dependence.