Research published in 2013 from the USA discussed Physician health programmes (PHPs) and the impact on medical malpractice claims.
PHP’s are peer-assistance organizations that provide support to physicians struggling with addiction or with physical or mental health challenges.
The research noted that PHPs can also be found in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Great Britain, Norway, Finland and other countries.
The aim of the research was to examine whether medical malpractice claims were associated with monitoring by a PHP using a retrospective examination of administrative data.
Data on PHP clients who were insured by the largest malpractice carrier in a USA state were examined.
Data on 818 clients was available for analysis. After monitoring, those enrolled in the programme showed a 20% lower malpractice risk than the matched cohort. Furthermore physicians’ annual rate of claims were significantly lower after programme monitoring among PHP clients.