While alcohol use in the United States has reached historic lows overall, a silent crisis persists among high-stress professionals including lawyers, journalists, doctors, and nurses. A 2024 CDC study concluded that alcohol was the direct or indirect cause of more than 175,000 deaths annually in the United States.
One 2023 global metaanalysis found that one out of every five health care professionals drink enough for it to be hazardous to their health and frequently engage in binge drinking. Among American physicians, a 2015 study found that 13 percent of male physicians and 21 percent of female physicians would meet criteria for alcohol misuse. Rates of problematic drinking in this group rose during the pandemic, contrary to the celebrated drop-off among the general public.
Alcohol misuse by health care providers is associated with poorer work performance and worse patient outcomes. The HBO series “The Pitt,” depicting an emergency department, highlights this issue through Dr. Frank Langdon, who appears highly effective at work while secretly misusing hospital medications. According to Dr. Jason Kirby, chief medical officer at Recovery Centers of America, identifying the problem in physicians is particularly challenging: “It is very difficult to treat a physician. Physicians just, in general, have a lot of ego.”
Most doctors enter rehab only when issues are forced upon them by colleagues, superiors, or patients rather than seeking help voluntarily. Upon returning to work after treatment, physicians may face stigma and concerns about trustworthiness. The deeper challenge remains fixing the conditions that lead to substance misuse in the first place—the trauma from pandemic years persists, medical work remains highly stressful, and many providers work without necessary institutional support for their mental health.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.vox.com/good-medicine-newsletter/485861/the-pitt-season-2-finale-langdon-santos-addiction