Frequently Asked Questions

While the possibility of a suit is always there, that risk must be weighed against the risk of being sued by an injured patient for damage done in the hospital by an impaired professional.

Your hospital attorney should be involved in the establishment of your Medical Staff Health Committee. You need to consult with the PAPAMP and keep your attorney apprised in the management of a potential case.

Medical staffs sometimes subscribe to the folklore that doctors are too smart to develop a substance use disorder. A lack of awareness about substance use disorder can greatly delay intervention and treatment for a colleague making the road to recovery longer, more difficult, and expensive.

Substance use disorder cases are hard to handle successfully. A body of specialized knowledge found in a committee is far more likely to address the situation professionally than an ad hoc effort.

Confrontations, poorly assembled without credible evidence, can backfire and wind up in expensive public litigation for the staff and hospital.

A strong responsibility of the Medical Staff Health Committee is education—it must keep the awareness level of potential substance use disorder problems high among the hospital staff and leadership through formal programs and informal interaction.

The PAPAMP is a phone call away, but the Medical Staff Health Committee is local. Its members are in the hospital every day. They pick up signals much earlier and will not hesitate to call the PAPAMP if they believe a situation needs attention.

The committee should reflect the demographics of the staff because different kinds of illnesses cut across all ages and genders. In addition, it is highly recommended that recovering colleagues be included because of their special insights.

The Medical Staff Health Committee is the advisor to the Executive Committee, and it operates under the protection of the Peer Review Law. With consent, reports can be released from the PAPAMP to designated hospital representatives.

If a health care professional is referred to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), we suggest that the EAP conduct an initial screening contact just as it would for almost any referral. At that point, we strongly recommend that the EAP contact the Medical Staff Health Committee (MSHC) and/or PAPAMP to consult on any additional assessment that may be appropriate and jointly agree on referrals that should be made.

The PAPAMP acts as a valuable resource for the MSHC or EAP in these situations. Consultation before recommendations and case dispositions made can prevent many problems. Our experience has shown that health care professionals (HCPs) are very good at minimizing their problems and manipulation EAP personnel because of an HCP's powerful role in the hospital. It is very important that a peer assistance program be utilized to help with intervention and treatment.

The MSHC can be engaged to help with appropriate intervention or assistance in decided alternatives for referral. Because an HCP is not likely to be cooperative during this process, the involvement of the PAPAMP and the MSHC will be very helpful in reaching an appropriate disposition.