The study, led by researchers at the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, found that while 64 percent of surveyed physicians agreed with the professional commitment to report physicians who are significantly impaired or otherwise incompetent to practice, 36 percent did not agree with the statement in all cases.
According to the study, 17 percent of physicians had direct personal knowledge of a physician colleague who was incompetent to practice medicine, but of these, only 67 percent reported the colleague to a relevant authority. The study found that most often physicians do not report colleagues because they believe someone else will do so or nothing would happen as a result of the report.
The lead author of the study, Catherine DesRoches, told the Wall Street Journal Health Blog that self-regulation of physician competency could use improving, and physicians likely need more education about how and when to report impaired colleagues.
Read the JAMA abstract on reporting impaired colleagues.
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