Help for the chemically dependent physician: a treatment program and its outcomes.

The Donwood Institute in Toronto is a public hospital dedicated to the treatment of chemical dependency. The standard program consists of three phases: detoxification and orientation to the program; active hospital treatment which includes individual, group, and family therapy, relaxation training, nutrition counselling and education; and a continuing education program after discharge. In this study, 125 chemically dependent physicians were treated at the institute. After inpatient treatment, 62% were in remission six months later. Those dependent on alcohol only had the best outcomes (72.5% remission rate), followed by those dependent on drugs only (66.7% remission rate), while the poorest outcome was for those dependent on both alcohol and drugs (48.1% remission rate). The findings of this study are encouraging when compared with other treatment programs for chemically dependent physicians.