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hi all who heals the healers? how combat the sticky stigma? i regard the fact of the existence of this news item as a wonderfully positive indicator of progress janet ------------------------------------------------------ Depression common in doctors, getting help is not easy 2003-06-18 - New York (Reuters Health) - Doctors are at higher risk of suicide than other people and work-related repercussions and other barriers to depression treatment are partly to blame, according to an expert panel convened by the New York-based American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Even if physicians recognize that they are depressed, "there are all kinds of barriers to their seeking help, some of which are irrational," Dr. Herbert Hendin told Reuters Health. "The result is that physicians are not seeking help because they're afraid of punitive consequences" in professional advancement, medical licensing, hospital privileges, and health and malpractice insurance, said Hendin, the medical director at AFSP. In a consensus statement published in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Hendin and associates make several recommendations including encouraging physicians to "establish a regular source of healthcare and seek help for mood disorders, substance abuse, and/or suicidality," they write. The panel also recommends more extensive education, both in medical schools and as part of continuing medical education, with emphasis on recognizing depression and suicidal tendencies in themselves, their peers and their patients. "I'd like to see routine health questionnaires that ask about hypertension or diabetes also include the simple question, 'are you depressed?'" Hendin added. The panel also advocates that licensing boards, accrediting organizations, employers and insurance carriers focus on the doctor's ability to function instead of the doctor's psychiatric diagnosis or treatment. "Many states have shifted over from diagnosis-based questions to disability-based questions," said panel member Dr. Steven H. Miles of the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis. This would allow "for a much more supportive and confidential environment for doctors," he told Reuters Health. But even now, one quarter of the states "have a system that creates tremendous disincentives to seek care that would decrease a physician's disability," he added. The panel also advises that physicians educate themselves regarding state and federal protections for people with disabilities, including confidentiality of medical records and the legal rights of physicians receiving psychiatric treatment. One such mechanism is a Web site for physicians developed by AFSP at ( www.afsp.org/physician/ ). Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289:3161-3166. Reuters Limited http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2003/06/18/eline/links/20030618elin004. html ----------------------------------------------------- janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit primarily perky, parky pd: 56-41-37 cd: 56-44-43 tel: 613-256-8340 email: [log in to unmask] my newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newvoicenews/ my website: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn