High risk of relapse in physician opioid users
The risk of substance abuse relapse is increased in healthcare professionals who have used a major opioid, had a coexisting psychiatric illness, or who have a family history of substance abuse, according to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The risk of relapse is further increased, according to the study, if the physician had a previous relapse.
The study focused on testing whether chemically dependent healthcare professionals using a major opioid such as fentanyl, sufentanil, morphine, or meperidine, are at a higher risk of relapse. The test group consisted of 292 healthcare professionals who were enrolled in the Washington Physicians Health Program-an independent post-treatment monitoring program-between
Twenty-five percent of the study participants had at least one relapse. According to the article, chemical dependency (excluding nicotine) among physicians is estimated to be 10% to 15%, which is similar to that in the general population.