Physicians with alcohol and other drug addictions who participate in ongoing treatment and monitoring programs have an excellent chance of being employed and drug free after 5 years, report researchers at the University of Florida.
The findings, which showed successful rehabilitation for 22 of 24 Florida physicians who began treatment in 1995, were presented in November at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.
The researchers analyzed data collected by the Florida Physician Recovery Network, randomly selecting case files of 24 physicians—aged 30 to 63 years and all but one male—received care through a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings and from providers across the state. Nearly 40% had a history of intravenous drug abuse.
Recovery was documented by reports from counselors, evaluations by psychiatrists or physicians, records of returning to work, and results of random urinalysis tests conducted at least weekly during the 5 years.
