This article discusses the challenges faced by aging doctors as their physical abilities decline, despite their wealth of experience. It highlights the importance of addressing age-related health issues in the medical profession and explores potential solutions for ensuring patient safety.
A doctors’ ability to provide sound patient care diminishes with age. We need a comprehensive, fair and respectful way of assessing fitness to practicet my medical graduation over 25 years ago, the earnest guest speaker made us promise we would get ourselves a GP. All 160 of us humoured him, secretly believing illness was something that happened to other people.
Of the 132,000 practising doctors in Australia, nearly 7,000 are aged 70 and over. Older doctors are more likely than their younger colleagues to attract complaints about clinical care, communication, record-keeping and prescribing, although it’s important to note the absolute difference is small: in 2023, for every 1,000 doctors there were 69 complaints in the over-70 group and 38 in the under-70. Regulatory action occurred in 23% of complaints in the first group and 14% in the second.
This brings us to the second option of a detailed assessment of “fitness to practice” conducted once every three years after age 70 and annually after age 80. The results and any intervention would be confidential unless the doctor posed a substantial risk to the public. Older doctors can be superb mentors – it would be a shame if regulatory overreach lost them. So, while one might intuitively think the best way to protect the public from impaired doctors is the most detailed assessment, just like in the practice of medicine, the benefits must be weighed against the risks.
other doctors who quietly protect patients from an impaired colleague. Many of us know the dilemma and heartache of knowing that a dear friend is no longer someone we would want treating our loved ones.
Aging Physicians Medical Profession Patient Safety Health Decline Cognitive Function
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