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March 19, 2024
  • Welcome

    Welcome

    This is the home of the Georgia Professionals Health Program Read More
  • Georgia PHP Services

    Georgia PHP Services

    Physicians, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, and veterinarians are currently followed by the Georgia PHP. Read More
  • Confidentiality

    Confidentiality

    Monitoring is protected in the majority of cases. Read More
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Is the assistance of the Georgia PHP Confidential?

If I ask for help, will I get confidential care?

If you decide to contact the Georgia PHP about yourself or a loved one, that report is confidential under most circumstances. The Georgia PHP is protected by Georgia law to hold confidential the majority of cases it receives. If you, a colleague or a loved one has a substance abuse disorder email or call us. If you are reluctant to tell us about the individual, you may certainly call us without providing a name initially. We can discuss the case and let you know about the protection the Georgia PHP has for that individual.

If a physician or physician assistant has or may have a substance disorder, we help that individual get into confidential care. This means that the Georgia Medical Board does not need to know about the diagnosis or treatment. The individual can obtain the care that they need without concerns regarding their license, report to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) or legal reprisal. The PHP finds appropriate assessment and treatment (if needed) for that person. Following treatment, the PHP places the individual in a monitoring program that ensures they are healthy and safe. Research regarding Professionals Health Programs like the Georgia PHP has shown that this type of care is extremely effective for health care providers. By increasing the probability that a substance-abusing professional obtains the care he or she needs, public safety is ensured.

At the beginning of this article, we mentioned that the care is confidential in the majority of cases. Let’s discuss the times when the PHP cannot ensure confidential care. If an individual already has a Board of Medicine action in process against them, the PHP may not be able to keep the treatment confidential. Often, we are able to help decrease Board consequences depending on the individual’s cooperation with care. 

Similarly, if an individual has charges against them that are substance-related (DUIs or drug diversion from work) we are unable to make such charges “go away.” We may be able to help but we cannot work magic. Finally, if you enter into treatment for substance-related problems and repeatedly fail to cooperate with needed care and monitoring, the Georgia PHP is obligated to report such a case to the Medical Board. We are here to help all Georgia physicians obtain the care they need. However, the PHP will not be able to continue of public safety is placed at risk.

Substance abuse care for Georgia Professionals protects the public by getting care for addiction disorders before they rise to the point of effecting patient care. In doing so we save the lives of both health care workers and and their patients.  

Addiction & Behavioral Health

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Help

The Georgia Professional Health Program (Georgia PHP, Inc.) is a nonprofit organization formed in 2012 to assist all licensees of the Georgia Composite Board of Medical Examiners and in 2022 the Georgia Board of Veterinary Medicine who develop potentially impairing conditions, mental illnesses, substance abuse and other addictive disorders. We are not, per se, a treatment organization. Rather, we provide initial triage, referral into treatment, treatment quality monitoring, and long-term care for addiction and mental/behavioral health disorders.