As noted, outcomes for physicians who take part in treatment and monitoring programs are often excellent. In a recent study by the North Carolina PHP, for instance, 91 percent of substance-impaired physicians ultimately had a good outcome, compared to only 59 percent of physician assistants.8 One reason for this discrepancy may be physician assistants as a group don’t have the same ability to pay for long-term treatment. “They just don’t have as deep of pockets as the physicians when they get into trouble,” say Warren Pendergast, M.D., medical director of the North Carolina PHP and coauthor of the study. Another contributing factor may be that physicians have more to lose. “For a lot of physicians, if they’re not able to keep their license or get their license back, they don’t have a lot to fall back on,” says Pendergast. “Many of us don’t have other skills. Medicine is really all we’ve done.” The prospect of losing one’s livelihood and identity as a physician is a major motivator.

Three shells and a pea–ASAM, FSPHP, and LMD. “PHP-Approved” Assessment and Treatment Centers On the above list  can be found the Medical Directors of a number of drug and alcohol …

Source: Monopolies, Self-Referral and Shell Games: The Need for Antitrust Investigation of Physician Health Programs and their “PHP-Approved” Assessment and Treatment Centers