Dr. Lawrence John: On mental health, physicians should lead by example

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf launched a campaign earlier this month aimed at expanding access to mental health services for all Pennsylvanians. As president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, I applaud Wolf’s commitment to combating this growing issue.

While strengthening insurance parity and network adequacy serve as essential solutions, an equally important focus should be reducing the stigma that often holds people back from seeking treatment.

Wolf’s announcement understandably focused on teens and veterans — two groups that are particularly vulnerable to the stressors that can lead to mental illness.

Another important group that deserves attention is physicians. While physicians strive to ensure their patients live healthy lives, there is growing evidence that we, too, struggle with mental health.

Research shows nearly half of physicians in the U.S. have experienced symptoms of burnout, including depression, exhaustion, and dissatisfaction with their jobs.

Physicians now experience the highest suicide rate of any profession, according to the American Psychiatric Association. We lose 300-400 physicians every year to suicide — that’s equal to an entire medical school class.

Physician well-being is linked to providing quality care and favorable outcomes for our patients. But by one estimate, physician burnout adds $4.6 billion in additional costs to our health care system in the form of physician turnover and expenses associated with finding and hiring replacements.

In short, we can no longer afford to ignore this growing public health crisis. But how do we address it? Suggestions include:

• Address stressors in a meaningful way.

Physicians blame burnout on additional duties outside the exam room, such as increased bureaucratic tasks, government interference and too much time with computers rather than patients. While some of these tasks, such as electronic health records, cannot completely go away, we must work together to figure out how to minimize them as much as possible.

• Highlight organizations that take physician burnout seriously.

Just like many other groups in our society, we must work to remove the stigma that prevents physicians from seeking treatment. A good way to start is by shining the spotlight on organizations that provide outlets for physicians and staff to address the stressors that lead to mental health issues, and encourage other organizations to follow suit. The Pennsylvania Medical Society recently recognized Dr. George Garrow, chief medical officer of the Primary Health Network in northwestern Pennsylvania, who developed a peer response team that assists physicians and other staff who struggle with stress and burnout.

• Encourage dialogue.

Physician burnout is a complicated issue that will require us to change the culture of medicine (no small feat!). To do that, we must engage physicians, hospital executives and policymakers to seek realistic solutions and demand action. Dialogue is essential. It is the top priority during my year as president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

As Wolf’s announcement reminds us, physicians also need to know it’s OK to seek mental health treatment when necessary. Decreasing the stigma associated with mental health will save lives.

Because patients often look to physicians to lead by example, our focus on this issue within the medical community will strengthen physicians’ ability to lessen the stigma with their patients.