Resource Document: Guidelines to District Branches for a Policy on Physician Impairment

Approved by the Joint Reference Committee, 1990

Approved by the Council on Psychiatry and Law, 1990

The American Psychiatric Association has resolved to promote the mental and physical health of all physicians toward the goal of insuring optimum care of patients, protecting the public from possible harm by an impaired physician, preventing loss of valuable medical manpower, and helping the impaired physician regain health and productivity. The APA recognizes that psychiatrists, like other physicians, are at risk for impairment by mental and physical disorders, including addiction (or substance abuse). All physicians have an ethical obligation to assist colleagues who are impaired, including those who avoid and resist treatment.