California Society of Addiction Medicine / MEDICAL BOARD ELIMINATES PHYSICIAN DIVERSION PROGRAM

MEDICAL BOARD ELIMINATES PHYSICIAN DIVERSION PROGRAM

Click Here for Model Letter and Talking Points

At its July 26 meeting, the Medical Board of California, after deciding that it was not capable of effectively running a Physician Diversion Monitoring Program on its own, voted unanimously to eliminate the program as of June 30, 2008. The Board's position leaves unclear whether California will have a Diversion Program next year and holds in limbo the status of physicians who are addressing substance abuse or mental health disorders who are currently participating in the Program.

The Medical Board will begin phasing out the current Diversion Program and may refuse participants who voluntary submit to enter Diversion due to program staffing shortages that are anticipated with the announcement of the Program's closure. Additionally, those that come to the attention of Enforcement may no longer be referred to the current Diversion Program for the same reason.

In voting to dissolve the Diversion Program, the Board went on record in saying that it no longer wishes to hold responsibility for a Diversion Program that it knows has serious operating flaws. The Board sited issues of poor record keeping, persistent understaffing, and improper program administration identified in externally conducted audits.

Additionally, the Board voted to convene a summit of interested stakeholders, including the CA Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM), the CA Medical Association (CMA) and other organizations, who today expressed their disappointment and outrage about the decision to close the program, to seek their recommendations for an alternative method for responding to physicians who suffer from addiction or mental disorders. The summit is expected to take place prior to the June 30 closure of the program and if a viable alternative is agreed upon, the current program functions may be transferred away from the Medical Board of CA to be handled by another entity.

The Medical Board moved ahead with their decision to close the program despite strong appeals from the medical community that closing the program would seriously impact patient safety because of the likelihood that physicians in the years ahead would go underground about their problems due to fear that they will never practice medicine again. The loss of this program is a regressive step that paradoxically puts the public at greater risk.

Dr. David Pating, President of the California Society of Addiction Medicine strongly urged the Medical Board of California to exercise its full responsibilities to protect public safety and the rights of medically disabled physicians by maintaining the highest quality Diversion Program possible. He said that dismantling the Program altogether is an unacceptable alternative. Whether California's Diversion Program is run directly by MBC or outsourced to a private vendor, he said that the Board bears the responsibility to assure proper administration of a clinically effective program, proper oversight of that program on an ongoing basis, and maintenance of a process for continuing improvement and innovation that will provide a model for the nation that is worthy of California's tradition of leadership.

Until today, all states have diversion programs that provide many different levels of service to physicians in need. California will find itself without such a program after June 30, 2008 if attempts through a summit are unsuccessful in identifying a viable alternative.

ACTION REQUESTED:

#1 -- If you have clinical responsibility for or a relationship with a current diversion program participant, please alert him/her to this situation and attempt to counter the stress that this situation is certain to cause. Advise him/her that the physician community led by the CA Medical Association and other professional organizations will be working to identify a new path for physicians to be monitored for patient safety while they seek treatment so that physicians can retain their medical licenses and return to work once they have proven their ability to do so.

#2 - Join CSAM members who share common outrage about the Medical Board’s decision. Help us speak out about the need to protect public safety and the rights of medically disabled physicians by maintaining the highest quality diversion program possible. The elimination of the Diversion Program is unacceptable and a viable alternative must be found by no later than June 30, 2008 - please help us do so. Contact: csam@compuserve.com to sign on to this effort or call for more information: 415-927-5730.

#3 -- A model letter will be e-mailed to you in the coming days to assist you in writing to your local newspaper. Our goal is for every paper in the state to receive a letter from a local CSAM member presenting a more humane approach to protecting the public and providing the framework for treatment to occur for physicians with substance abuse issues.