The Colorado Medical Society has created a new program that will offer free peer counseling to any physician or medical student, the Loveland Reporter-Herald reported April 2.
Doc2Doc Wellbeing Consulting consists of a hotline that will be staffed 24/7 by a masters-level licensed clinician. The clinician then schedules a follow-up appointment in person, by video or a phone call with a physician trained in psychiatry.
"A study published by the American Medical Association, the Mayo Clinic, and Stanford Medicine in December 2022 showed an alarming 62.8 [percent] of physicians experienced symptoms of burnout in 2021, up from 38 [percent] the previous year," the Colorado Medical Society said in a news release obtained by the publication. "This follows similarly concerning studies that indicated one in every five physicians planned to leave practice within two years, while one in three anticipated cutting back their hours."
The program will supplement evaluations offered by the Colorado Physician Health Program.