Doctors Abusing Prescription Drugs: Where Do They Turn for Help?

Recent research shows that not only are doctors abusing prescription drugs at about the same rate as the general population (as many as one out of every ten doctors is struggling with a substance abuse problem), but their reasons for abuse tend to be the same as well. What becomes tricky are the treatment options. What we are finding is that traditional treatment options are not always conducive to the needs of physicians.

A study back in October in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, found that doctors tended to abuse prescription drugs such as Percocet, Oxycontin, Vicodin, sedatives and stimulants more than alcohol or illicit drugs (albeit those substances are abused among physicians as well). And although some doctors abusing prescription drugs did so for recreational use or to get high, many turned to prescription drugs for the following reasons: