Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Surgeon suicides: Unveiling a silent crisis

Pamela Wible, MD
Physician
October 28, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

When I read The Guardian article, “US surgeons are killing themselves at an alarming rate. One decided to speak out,” I felt like throwing up.

I’m sickened so many surgeons are dying. I’m grateful Dr. Cunningham is speaking out. I’m relieved she is alive.

But I felt nauseated that Carrie Cunningham’s pain is being used to tout physician “health” programs (PHPs) as the solution to physician suicide while these programs have actually led to doctor suicides.

Since 2012, I’ve run a free doctor suicide helpline. I spent thousands of hours listening to the hidden suffering of my peers.

Although some doctors with true substance use disorders find PHPs lifesaving, others die by suicide in these programs—yet I cannot find any major media articles on these dead physicians.

I know 23 doctors who died in these so-called health programs. None can speak out. None can respond to this article. So, on their behalf, I must.

Standing on the red carpet to deliver my TEDMED talk, Why doctors kill themselves—I was introduced as the “Physician’s Guardian Angel.” So, I cannot remain silent when my peers suffer injustice.

One week before The Guardian article debuted, I detailed how PHP abuses have led to doctor suicides in a letter to the Department of Justice, published in its entirety below:

September 17, 2023

Attention: Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

Today is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, and I wish to make you aware of doctor suicides resulting from Title II ADA violations by medical licensing boards (MLBs) and their exclusively authorized and contracted physician health programs (PHPs).

MLB-PHP violations are many—impermissible inquiry, discriminatory medical exams, excessive testing, lack of individualized case analysis, refusal of accommodations, to name a few.

But I’m not writing to call your attention to a list of violations. I’m writing to speak for those who no longer can: 23 compassionate, competent, dedicated doctors whose deaths were directly related to willful violations of law by PHPs, both empowered and immunity-protected by their state medical boards.

In 2012, after three doctor suicides in my town, I urged local reporters to cover these tragedies. They refused. Outraged, I felt compelled to investigate this alarming phenomenon on my own.

ADVERTISEMENT

Since then, I’ve run a free physician suicide helpline. I’ve heard from countless US physicians who became suicidal under the “care” of a PHP. Mistreatment so unfathomable, I was in disbelief—until others reported the same tactics employed by their state PHPs.

A few common themes:

Physicians forced into PHP evaluations following anonymous, unsubstantiated tips (often retaliatory) with no avenue to explore or appeal allegations of disability or impairment.

PHPs endorsing unfounded diagnoses of substance misuse via non-FDA-approved, non-SAMHSA-condoned drug tests known for false positive results.

Physicians with no history of drug/alcohol use automatically enrolled in costly out-of-state inpatient faith-based abstinence programs—followed by five years of drug monitoring and AA attendance.

Nonphysician bureaucrats recklessly endangering doctors’ lives by overriding their established psychiatrist’s treatment plan with PHP “one-size-fits-all” protocols.

To keep their medical license, doctors must “voluntarily” agree to travel out-of-state to “PHP-preferred” facilities where they may be interrogated via polygraph during a 4-day multidisciplinary evaluation for up to $10,000 cash (no insurance accepted).

Physicians who cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars to these for-profit “PHP-preferred” rehabs get reported to their board as “noncompliant,” usually resulting in license revocation with automatic entry into National Practitioner Data Bank, rendering the physician unemployable.

MLBs then publicly disclose physicians’ disability-related license revocation, HIPAA-protected health information (detailing unsupported, yet unchallengeable misdiagnoses)—all published on the World Wide Web in perpetuity.

I’ve twice implored Oregon Medical Board (OMB) to track doctor suicides in our state. They refused. While touting their success in self-funded unverifiable “studies,” state PHPs also lack transparency, failing to investigate their own physician suicides.

Legitimate accredited health facilities are required to report suicides as sentinel events to Joint Commission, perform internal case analysis, and correct deficiencies. The MLB-PHP complex behaves as if it is above the law—refusing to disclose suicide incidence, declaring “study participants lost to follow-up” while concealing rights deprivations contributing to their deaths.

Distraught by OMB’s refusal to collect doctor suicide data while my peers were dying in board-ordered PHPs known for mishandling physician mental health and impairment allegations, I began tracking these doctor suicides.

I’ve now catalogued 23 PHP suicides by name, date, specialty, location, method of death, and circumstances. For in-depth documentation (including video interviews with PHP victims and their family members in the aftermath of these doctor suicides), please contact me.

I thank Christina Frangou for her compelling article on Dr. Cunningham—a stellar surgeon who was never a danger to her patients. No wonder she wanted to throw up when the PHP declared her “unfit” to practice medicine and mandated years of random testing for drugs she’d never done in her life.

PHPs claim to counter the “myth that illness automatically means impairment,” while concurrently labeling competent physicians as “impaired.” Forcing physicians to abandon thousands of patients endangers the lives of doctors—and their patients (who have also died by suicide).

As an award-winning journalist specializing in health, medicine, and social issues, you’ll likely be disturbed by the dark side of the forced physician rehab industry that makes millions off the suffering of our vulnerable doctors.

I respectfully request a follow-up piece about doctors who have died in physician health programs. Their voices deserve to be heard.

Pamela Wible is a family physician.

Prev

Reflections on human suffering

October 28, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

Balancing life and medicine [PODCAST]

October 28, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Reflections on human suffering
Next Post >
Balancing life and medicine [PODCAST]

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Pamela Wible, MD

  • When health care professionals lose everything

    Pamela Wible, MD
  • 13 tips for depressed doctors who need confidential mental health care

    Pamela Wible, MD
  • Doctors are trained to lie

    Pamela Wible, MD

Related Posts

  • The climate crisis as viewed by an emergency physician

    Elizabeth M. Barreras-Rivest, MD
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • An alarming rise in military suicides: Unveiling hidden crisis and urgent need for action

    Martha Rosenberg
  • What’s wrong with crisis pregnancy centers?

    Nickey Jafari, MD
  • In crisis, danger and opportunity are present

    Casey P. Schukow, DO
  • How a physician keynote can highlight your conference

    Kevin Pho, MD

More in Physician

  • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • How a rainy walk helped an oncologist rediscover joy and bravery

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • A day in the life of a WHO public health professional in Meghalaya, India

    Dr. Poulami Mazumder
  • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

    Emma Fenske, DO
  • Adriana Smith’s story: a medical tragedy under heartbeat laws

    Nicole M. King, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why the fear of being forgotten is stronger than the fear of death [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why the fear of being forgotten is stronger than the fear of death [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...