Current Trends in JCAHO "Disruptive Physician" Referrals

Many Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations are still struggling to mandate reluctant physicians to attend programs that address and help change "disruptive behavior". Change seems difficult for an established, long standing practice of remaining silent in the presence of "disruptive behaviors".

Here are some of the obstacles of implementing the new JCAHO standards:

·Threats of lawsuits from affected physicians

·Potential loss of income from high producing specialists

·Lack of standards from Disruptive Physician Providers

·Unavailability of an Approved National Provider list for use by physician well-being committees, administrators and other mandated referrals

·The limitation of the two recognized national providers of mandated resources for physicians: The PACE Program at the University of California at San Diego and The Vanderbilt University Distressed Physician Program.

According to the New York Times, the new JCAHO "disruptive physician" mandate has created a "Cottage Industry" of psychologists and on-line anger management providers with no training or experience in providing assessment and intervention for disruptive physicians.

Finally, the anger management programs at Vanderbilt and UCSD are already full for 2009. A National Provider List of Resources for Disruptive Physicians can be found by clicking here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/11938908/Nationwide-Directory-of-Resources-for-Disruptive-Physicians

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF, CEAP
Diplomat, 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
http://www.anger-management-resources.org/