GPs and psychiatrists face higher rates of health impairment notifications to AHPRA, landmark study finds
Lead author Professor Marie Bismark says seeking help for a health concern 'doesn't necessarily mean the end of a doctor's career'.
GPs and psychiatrists are more likely to receive a health impairment notification than other specialists, a landmark study shows.
The finding follows a review of AHPRA records of nearly 112,000 doctors registered between 2012 and 2022 [*].
Led by psychiatrist Professor Marie Bismark from the University of Melbourne, it showed that health impairment notifications are infrequent – just 1,258 doctors receiving a notification over the ten years.
But the incidence rate was twice as high for GPs and psychiatrists than for physicians who were used as a control (see results below).
