Physician Suicide and the Elephant in the Room
Michael Langan, M.D.
Although no reliable statistics exist, anecdotal reports suggest an alarming upsurge in physician suicide. This necessitates a reappraisal of known predisposing risk factors such as substance abuse and depression but also requires a critical examination of what external forces or vulnerabilities might be unique to doctors and how they might be involved in the descent from suicidal ideation to suicidal planning to completed suicide.
Depression and Substance Abuse Comparable to General Population
Depression and substance abuse are the two biggest risk factors for suicide. The prevalence of depression in physicians is close to that of the general population 1,2 and, if one looks critically at the evidence based literature, substance abuse in medical professionals approximates that of the general population. Controlled studies using DSM diagnostic criteria suggest that physicians have the same rates (8-14%) of substance abuse…
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Disrupted Physician 
[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? by Pauline Anderson was the first mainstream medical publication critical of PHPs and more recently Jeanne Lenzer’s “Physician health programs under fire” was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and discusses the lack of accountability, conflicts of interest and profit motivation inherent in this system. In response to direct, specific and serious complaints involving “diagnoses rigging,” forensic lab fraud and false diagnoses to support unneeded treatment the FSPHP has taken a stance of silence. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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[…] Physician Health Programs- More Harm Than Good? was the first article critical of PHPs. “Physician health programs under fire” was recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The lack of accountability and financial and ideological conflicts of interest are addressed. Complaints include coercion, threats, “diagnoses rigging,” lab fraud and false diagnoses to to support unneeded treatment. The physician health program model is a major factor in the current suicide epidemic in doctors. […]
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