Class Action Lawsuit Hits Michigan Professional Health Program

The Health Professional Recovery Program (HPRP) is a Michigan organization established to give health professionals a discreet, non-disciplinary avenue to handle substance abuse disorders and mental health problems. A lawsuit was recently filed in federal Court by three mid-level providers claiming damages against this organization alleging constitutional violations, financial conflicts, lack of oversight, and due process. The HPRP is designed to track treatment of health professionals referred to them and is administered by a private contractor. The plaintiffs assert that the administrators of the program are overruling treatment decisions by doctors and coercing people into selected treatment facilities that are additionally charged with supplying the first evaluation of the need for treatment. These facilities are costly and usually not covered by insurance because these programs are deemed not medically necessary.

Several other programs designed to assist in the treatment of health professionals with mental health or substance abuse problems have also come under fire for coercion and monetary double dealing. A concerning pattern seems to have emerged in which these agencies that were initially using  volunteer boards directed at helping doctors return to practice safely now contain doctors who are closely tied to treatment facilities or drug testing firms. A chain of recent posts on SERMO, the world's largest physician-only social network, got a great deal of attention. It's clear that there have been a lot of abuses and also a lack of due process for participants in these sorts of situations. Physicians can also be subject to polygraph tests, a practice most Americans would never accept. The term "disruptive physician" is an easy method to target those who speak out against the system.

Are you aware of a colleague that has self-reported or has been reported for substance or mental health issues? Maybe you've experienced a period of mental health crisis in your own life. How did you handle reporting demands? What rightsshould physicians have?