Random drug testing to reduce the incidence of addiction in anesthesia residents: preliminary results from one program.
Substance abuse occurs in approximately 1%-2% of anesthesia residents and nearly 80% of programs have had one or more resident (s) with such a problem. Education and control efforts have failed to reduce the frequency of substance abuse. Anesthesia providers have a professional obligation to be drug-free for the well being of their patients. We have instituted a program of preplacement and random urine testing of residents in anesthesiology in an attempt to decrease the incidence of substance abuse. We demonstrate that such a program is feasible, despite logistic and cultural obstacles. Larger multi-institutional studies will be required to determine whether instituting a program of random urine testing decreases the incidence of substance abuse in anesthesiology residents.
Fitzsimons
Michael G
MG
Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA 02114, USA. mfitzsimons@partners.org
Baker
Keith H
KH
Lowenstein
Edward
E
Zapol
Warren M
WM
D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010815:Physician Impairment; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry