"Disruptive Physicians" Need Assistance in Finding Coaching Resources

As healthcare organizations struggle to meet the January 1, 2009 deadline for establishing policies for the handling of "disruptive physicians", one glaring problem needs to be addressed. Currently, there are no published resource directories for acceptable intervention programs for disruptive physicians any place on the Internet.

When physicians are mandated to attend an intervention program to address issues such as anger, stress or other issues associated with the disruptive physician, it is extremely difficult to find these needed resources. There are no resources listed on the websites of the national or state medical organizations, nor are there any resources listed on the sites of state Medical Licensing Boards. The Joint Commision on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) does not currently provide a resource directory containing intervention programs for disruptive physicians.

A number of medical schools, including Vanderbilt University and the University of California at San Diego, offer nationally recognized programs for disruptive physicians. However, these programs are very small and generally have long waiting lists. UCSD offers it’s PACE Program four times a year with 8 physicians in each course. It is currently full through July 2009. Vanderbilt University is also limited in the total number of referrals it is capable of handling.

Physician Well-Being Committees, Credential Committees, Risk Management Officers , H.R. Managers, and those responsible for making referrals to programs for disruptive physicians need to have easy access, via the internet, to credible Executive Coaching/Anger Management programs for physicians.

The JCAHO may be the most logical organization for establishing a directory of resources for "disruptive physicians" and making such a directory available to all of the stakeholders.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF, CEAP
Diplomate, American Association of Anger Management Providers
Anderson & Anderson®, The Trusted Name in Anger Management
http://www.andersonservices.com/
http://www.aaamp.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/geoanderson
www.anger-management-resources.org