FAQs

The Georgia Professional Health Program (Georgia PHP, Inc.) is a nonprofit organization formed in 2012 to assist all licensees of the Georgia Composite Medical Board and in 2022 the Georgia Board of Veterinary Medicine, who develop potentially impairing conditions, mental health/behavioral illnesses, to include depression, substance use and other addictive disorders. We are not a treatment organization. Rather, we provide initial triage, referral into treatment, treatment quality monitoring, and long-term care monitoring for addiction and other mental health/behavioral disorders. The Georgia Professional Health Program was made possible by state law passed in 2010. The law provides for a structured relationship between the medical board and the services of the Georgia PHP. An agreement was reached with the Georgia Board of Veterinary Medicine in 2022. We are not a licensing or sanctioning body. We are a voluntary organization and see our mission as helping Georgia healthcare and veterinary providers remain healthy and in doing so, to improve the health of all citizens of our state. In 2025, the Georgia General Assembly provided appropriations in SFY26 to assist Georgia PHP in administrative and need based scholarship opportunities for those participating in our program. The majority of our funding comes from participant fees. We also pursue grant funding from benevolent benefactors in agencies that benefit from our services.

If you are a Georgia medical professional who needs an assessment to determine the nature of your problem, the PHP wants to send you to the best providers. Addiction and other mental health disorders when they occur in healthcare professionals take on specific characteristics that require specialized providers for the best outcome. Therefore, you should not choose any provider for this special skill. The Georgia Professional Health Program will refer you to our list of providers who have expertise in your area. If treatment is required, we have a list of care providers we have carefully vetted for their skills in taking care of addiction disorders in our population. They understand the specific differences, work-related stressors, and licensing concerns you might have during the course of your care.

Monitoring support refers to two types of interventions that promote abstinence. When abstinence is in place, it increases the probability of an individual attaining the state of recovery, but does not guarantee it. One of the largest functions of the Georgia PHP is monitoring its participants. Monitoring refers to toxicology testing (if indicated) and tracking simple behavioral parameters. The toxicology testing is performed randomly to reduce the frequency of testing. A participant is required to test when selected to ensure that the monitoring is accurate. In addition to drug testing, PHPs monitor a participant’s behaviors, such as attendance at support group meetings and therapy sessions — tracking these simple behaviors increases treatment compliance and increases the probability that an individual will enter true recovery from their addictive disorder.

A PHP provides support and services for those at risk of mental health illness, such as stress, burnout, anxiety and other conditions such as substance use or behavioral disorder. GAPHP offers services to healthcare providers who have a medical condition that could impact their clinical performance. These services include general outreach, crisis intervention, informal assessment, treatment monitoring, and support for providers who need our help. GAPHP believes that early intervention and evaluation offer the best opportunity for a successful outcome and help to protect patient safety.

The Georgia Professional Health Program follows the guidelines established by the Federation of State Physician Health Programs (FSPHP) regarding communication with hospitals and other healthcare agencies. As such, we provide quarterly letters that attest to a participant’s compliance with the Georgia PHP. For confidentiality reasons, we do not re-release the results of toxicology test, evaluations, treatment, or psychotherapy records. We do require that all of our participants sign releases for their practice and credentialing institutions prior to communication with you. If the Georgia PHP has an emergent concern about one of our participants, we will take steps to assert public safety. Because we have a signed release for credentialing institutions, we will communicate this concern as soon as is practical.

If you, your spouse or loved one has entered inpatient residential or outpatient treatment for a substance use or mental health/behavioral disorder, as long as you have contacted and enrolled in Georgia PHP you do not need to contact the Georgia Composite Medical Board or the Georgia Board of Veterinary Medicine. By enrolling in the Georgia PHP, you are able to keep treatment confidential and at the same time protect your Georgia medical license or veterinary license. As long as you or your loved one is maintained in a PHP-approved treatment process, you do not need to make a subsequent report to the Georgia Composite Medical Board or the Georgia Board of Veterinary Medicine. If your case becomes known later, the medical board or veterinary board may contact us, and we will in turn let you know about this contact and reassure them of your compliance with treatment. Only in rare cases will they need to know about your situation.

If you are concerned about the mental health of a colleague, please contact us via email (webinquiry@gaphp.org) or by phone (855-694-2747). Because Georgia has its own professional health program, you can assist your colleague in obtaining confidential care. The staff of the Georgia PHP regularly receives intake calls about professionals who may be in trouble. Each case is handled uniquely based on clinical need. Some cases require a direct referral into an assessment or treatment. Other cases may benefit from gathering additional data.

If you are a physician or veterinarian in Georgia and have been arrested and/or charged in a DUI or other substance-related event, it is in your best interest to contact the Georgia PHP. You will need to report this information to the medical board or veterinary board, and having us guide the proper response to this event is critical.

The Georgia Professional Health Program (Georgia PHP, Inc.) provides intake, assessment, referral and long-term management of physicians, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, and veterinarians with substance use disorders and other mental health/behavioral conditions. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to the care of healthcare professionals and licensed veterinarians who live and work in the state of Georgia. If you have a concern about yourself, a family member, colleague or co-worker the first step is asking for help. To reach us you may send an email to webinquiry@gaphp.org or fill out the contact form on the site. If your concern is urgent, call 1-855-MyGaPHP (1-855-694-2747).

The Georgia PHP, like all professional health programs, is not a treatment provider. Instead, we provide initial triage, referral, and treatment quality management. We carefully select and reevaluate providers who perform the actual treatment, ensuring they provide state-of-the-art care for healthcare professionals. This quality review process extends to our assessors, initial treatment programs, the substance screening process, as well as ongoing needed psychotherapy. In many ways, a PHP is like an employee assistance program whose goal it is to increase health by managing chronic disease care.