Doctors and health care staff are pictured at an emergency department in Houston. Physicians are less likely to seek mental health care due to licensing concerns over outdated questions on licensure and credentialing applications that ask about any previous diagnosis, care or treatment. State medical boards and hospital systems are changing those forms. Medical doctors face higher rates of burnout and depression, and are twice as likely to die by suicide compared with the general population.
But the problem existed long before the pandemic — and it remains. The AMA and other groups have been pushing for legislative and regulatory changes. More states and health systems are amending licensure and credentialing forms to remove mental health-related questions, such as asking about whether a doctor sought mental health care or treatment or received a mental health diagnosis. Others have codified such changes into state law. The rationale for asking about mental health was to ensure patient safety.
The AMA says safety can be addressed with general language that asks if the physician is suffering from any impairment that could interfere with patient care.
Jesse Ehrenfeld, the president of the AMA. States are making it easier for physician assistants to work across state lines. Ehrenfeld recalled a classmate who had applied for a medical license in Colorado.
That held up her license for nine months, Ehrenfeld said. Nationwide, at least 29 states have updated their forms to remove such questions in line with AMA standards, and as of September of last year, hospitals had changed credentialing questions, according to the AMA. Advocates say destigmatizing mental health care for doctors is paramount as the nation grapples with a shortage of health care workers.
