Medical board proposes confidential drug rehab program for doctors
Critics say the plan would put patients at risk
Austin Grabish
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Medical Board of California wants to create a confidential program for substance-abusing physicians that critics say will eliminate oversight of doctors who have drug problems.
But the board maintains its plan would allow impaired physicians to get help before they harm a patient.
“This is intended to be a comprehensive substance abuse and mental health program,” said board president Kristina Lawson during an interview from Walnut Creek, CA.
The board voted last Friday in Los Angeles to approve a draft legislative proposal that would allow a non-profit to be contracted to run a new “Physician Health and Wellness Program.”
Critics say the plan would overturn state laws meant to provide transparency to the public. If the proposal moves forward, doctors could voluntarily enter the program and avoid getting reported to the medical board for being impaired on the job.
“We're really going backwards,” said Michele Monserratt-Ramos, a patient safety advocate at Consumer Watchdog.
Monserratt-Ramos said the proposal would bring back a secret diversion program that numerous audits found failed and the previous board voted to end.
“They want to create a program without having to adhere to uniform standards, which basically creates consequences and accountability for substance-abusing physicians in the program,” she said in an interview from Los Angeles.
Lawson said California is one of only three states without a physician wellness program. She said it would allow doctors who could be flying under the board's radar to rehabilitate and get confidential treatment.
“We do know that there are impaired physicians practicing today that could harm the public if we're not able to capture them into a program like this.”
'We would like to learn from past mistakes'
Lawson acknowledged the previous program failed to protect the public due to several reasons including underfunding and understaffing.
“With respect to transparency and accountability specifically we would like to learn from our past mistakes.”
The California Medical Association told the board during an October meeting that it “expressed appreciation” for the proposed legislation.
Monserratt-Ramos said current rules for substance-abusing physicians are already lenient.
But she said at least state law allows the public to see discipline records for doctors who’ve gotten into trouble for abusing drugs or alcohol. The current rules also let the medical board issue an emergency order to prevent a physician from practicing for 30 days.
It's this transparency and protection for the public she fears will be gone if the proposal moves ahead.
Right now, Monserratt-Ramos said most doctors are given probation even if they have been caught impaired on the job.
That’s what happened to Dr. Anna Bowling, an anesthesiologist, who injected herself with a powerful anesthetic while on duty at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Encinitas in 2022.
The doctor had gone missing during her shift and was walking into walls while trying to leave the hospital, discipline records show.
The medical board put Bowling on probation for seven years. The anesthesiologist is allowed to continue working with patients but must disclose her probation and was ordered to take an ethics course.
It’s cases like this that Monserratt-Ramos said the public will no longer know about if this proposal moves forward.
“We shouldn't be in the dark when it comes to something so important and so critical as your physician potentially having a substance abuse problem."
The medical board hopes to have the proposal in front of state lawmakers in the next year.