Of Indiana’s 36 doctors who have their medical licenses on probation, more than half ran into trouble over drug or alcohol abuse, a Courier & Press analysis of Indiana Medical Licensing Board records shows.
But that may be only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how many doctors are treating patients while struggling to conquer addictions. Many doctors get assistance through the Physicians Assistance Program run by the Indiana State Medical Association.
Randy Stevens, a Terre Haute family physician who heads the committee that oversees the program, said he could not reveal the number of doctors participating because of confidentiality rules.
But he said that generally doctors suffer from addictions at about the same rate as the general population, meaning about 13 percent of doctors probably are tackling issues of substance abuse.
That would mean that for Indiana’s 21,380 licensed doctors, about 2,780 have addictions.
For the doctors now on probation, an arrest often triggered their review by the Medical Licensing Board. Jeffrey Seizys, a Michigan City, Ind., doctor, said he was caught ordering prescriptions through the mail and using them himself.
His license was suspended, he went through a rehab program and then signed up for the medical association monitoring program. He went back to work at his previous employer. After a couple of years, he relapsed but lied on his probationary visits and fooled the drug screens.
As he approached the expiration of his probation, he confessed his relapse to regulators.
“I had a breakthrough in honesty,” Seizys said.
Stevens said his group always tries to get troubled doctors help before things deteriorate because, under state administrative rules, doctors in the program are not reported to state regulators unless they fall off the wagon.
“We really save a lot of careers by having the program,” Stevens said, adding the medical association regularly fields phone calls from concerned colleagues and sets up interventions.
Stevens said doctors usually sign a five-year contract to stay in the program, meaning they have to check in daily to see if they’re up that day for random drug and alcohol screenings. The doctors also must participate in individual and group counseling. In his own practice, Stevens also specializes in addictions.
“I wish I could offer this type of program to anyone who has any type of chemical dependency,” he said, adding that the regimented monitoring and intense support really help keep people on the right track.
Going back to work
Stevens said the success rate for the medical association assistance program is high. Among doctors who successfully complete the entire five-year contract, fewer than 20 percent relapse.
But success does not automatically mean acceptance back into the work force. Seizys said he still is trying to win back his job.
“My place of employment and the hospital associated with it are very nervous about me coming back,” he said. He said he’s thought about moving, but prefers to stay put in part because everyone in his hometown knows about his struggle.
“I have a sense of duty to my patients I left behind and I need to make amends to my partners,” he said. He said doctors sometimes debate the pros and cons of moving, calling it a “geographic cure” to the problem.
“There is an appeal to running away,” he said, but he added that it felt sneaky and that it might lead to temptation to hide his recovery efforts and fall into old patterns.
Are doctors special?
Many of those in the assistance system seem torn — on the one hand they said doctors are just like anyone trying to overcome an addition. But they also said doctors face some special circumstances.
Access to addictive prescription drugs is one hurdle. Of the 20 doctors on probation for substance abuse issues, about half were caught writing false prescription to get the drugs for personal use.
Seizys also said that the personality traits that lead someone into a career in medicine — perfectionism, a need to be needed and in control — also are some common traits for addicts.
Despite those issues, Seizys said he didn’t think doctors tackling addictions were any different than anyone else.
“I really think that’s a copout,” he said. “It’s a life issue, not just a work issue.”
Not just substance abuse
While the majority of doctors run into problems with substance abuse, other stories lie behind the stacks of probationary files. Two doctors are on probation for child molestation convictions and cannot practice around children. A psychiatrist had sexual contact with female patients and now works in the prison system counseling only male patients.
Three doctors ran into trouble after they were found to have defrauded state and private insurance programs. And three doctors are being monitored for mental health issues.
One, Glenn Ballengee, an Indianapolis-based anesthesiologist, said he doesn’t think he was unfit to practice.
After working at an Indianapolis hospital for more than 20 years, Ballengee lapsed into a severe depression about two years ago. He called in two prescriptions for sleep medications and took several in what he called a “suicidal gesture.”
He said he got treatment for the depression and returned to work. But he failed to report the incident on his next license renewal form, according to medical board records. After being back at work for six weeks, Ballengee received a letter from the attorney general’s office that said he was being investigated.
He said he surrendered his license, signed a treatment agreement and got the OK from his doctors to return to work.
His position at the hospital was filled in the interim and he now is looking for a job. He said he is happy with the oversight by the Medical Licensing Board but resents the attorney general’s office because he said its investigation and subsequent demands obligated him to sign a settlement agreement if he wanted to get his license back.
“I talked to (the attorney general’s office) at length,” he said. “They were pretty unyielding.”
According to Indiana Medical Licensing Board records, no doctors with licenses on probation currently are working in Southwestern Indiana.
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At a glance
For the 36 doctors, residents and physician assistants on probation now, here are the issues that got them in trouble:
* 20 for personal substance abuse issues
* Three for mental illness
* Three for fraudulent billings to Medicaid or private insurance
* Three for medical mistakes
* Two for sexually molesting minors
* One for sexual contact and exposing himself to patients
* One for prescribing drugs to patients over the Internet without consultation
* One for prescribing drugs to wife with substance abuse problems
* One for practicing without a license in California and not passing the appropriate exams in Indiana
* One unknown because file is missing
Indiana has :
* 21,380 licensed medical doctors
* 1,398 licensed doctors of osteopathy
* 1,136 licensed residents
* 102 doctors with licenses revoked, cannot practice
* 69 doctors with suspended licenses, cannot practice
* 36 doctors and others with licenses on probation, can practice under the conditions of their probation.
To check the status of a doctor’s license, log onto: https:// extranet.in.gov/ WebLookup/Search.aspx
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