Should Physicians Receive Regular Mental Health Check-Ups?

Could an annual mental health check-up be as imperative as that compulsory yearly physical? For physicians, the latter may seem like mere common-sense, so why wouldn’t the same logic be applied to mental health? According to the authors of this US journal, mental health screenings are especially essential for physician’s health, as this is the subgroup that experiences the highest rates of illnesses, such as depression and burnout. Furthermore, suicide rates are particularly higher for physicians, often as a consequence of the stress of the job, as well as the sufficient lack and inadequacy of interventions.

Much of this is exacerbated by the very stigma perpetuated towards individuals with mental health, along with issues of access, time, and cost. Overall, mental health screening for physicians is beneficial as early detection can create opportunities for engaging at-risk physicians in evidence-based treatments. It may also greatly reduce the stigma perpetuated towards at-risk physicians seeking help as education becomes more widely prevalent.

Likewise, screening physicians also comes with its risks and barriers. The issue of preserving confidentiality when accessing mental health care services is a prevalent issue when seeking avenues of treatment, such as online screenings and in-person therapy. In terms of licensure, many people who undergo screening find the line of questioning/ inquiring about past mental health history to be inappropriate and, perhaps, abiding the stigma.

Basic accessibility is often an issue when finding financially-feasible treatment that is adequately covered by employee health benefit plans. There is also an issue of liability for institutions who conduct screenings. Furthermore, the presence of healthcare screening programs does not reap immediate results, as adequate focus on care should also be a priority. Additionally, screenings could also test for false positives, one such example being expressing symptoms of burnout and insomnia leading to the misdiagnosis of depression as opposed to correlating it to the stressful conditions of the workplace.

After assessing all the risks, it is clear that more screening, mindful to physician confidentiality, should be made more widely available. The authors mention the US-based American Foundation for Suicide Prevention which is an anonymous and confidential web-based platform that screens individuals and administers referrals if necessary. Integrating annual mental health check-ups with the required physical check-up could also reap beneficial outcomes in stigma reduction. More importantly, a comprehensive mental health program designed with physician confidentiality in mind could also benefit physicians.

Overall, the authors acknowledge that more research could be conducted in this topic. Nonetheless, it should be acknowledged that physicians face many barriers in receiving adequate mental health care, which is something that healthcare institutions and providers should consider when administering healthcare.

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Source:

• Goldman, M. L., Bernstein, C. A., & Summers, R. F. (2018). Potential Risks and Benefits of Mental Health Screening of Physicians. Jama, 320(24), 2527-2528.