Policy Paper released.

The Health Law Institute is pleased to announce the release of its Policy Paper titled Physicians with Health Conditions: Law and Policy Reform to Protect the Public and Physician-Patients.

This report examines the reality that physicians may face barriers that prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, their seeking out and utilizing beneficial services when they experience health conditions. While physicians are tasked with treating patients, they themselves, at times, are patients and need appropriate care and protections that acknowledge this reality. Physician health is also a concern when considering the goal of maintaining a healthy population of physicians to serve the public through the practice of medicine. While great strides should be taken to eliminate or reduce the barriers that physicians face, an appropriate framework must be in place to protect the public from the harm they could suffer if such physicians' health conditions are not appropriately addressed.

Physicians have legal, ethical and professional obligations to patients and others impacted by their practice; many such duties are...