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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, There is an increasing number of physicians
3experiencing burnout, a potential factor in the increased
4rates of physicians having depression and committing suicide;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Physicians who have or have had mental health
7concerns may be reluctant to seek treatment as it may cause
8difficulty in obtaining and/or renewing a medical license as
9well as obtaining institutional privileges; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Physicians not receiving treatment for mental
11health issues may pose harm to patients, and a lack of
12treatment for mental health issues can contribute to untreated
13burnout, depression, and increased rates of suicide; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Physicians have the right to obtain the same care
15as patients without retribution and with respect for the
16privacy of physicians' protected health information; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The American Psychiatric Association has found no
18evidence that a physician who has been treated for a mental
19illness is any more likely to harm a patient than a physician
20with no mental health issues; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
2states that employers cannot discriminate against employees
3based on mental or physical health; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The 2018 American Psychiatric Association
5Position Statement on Inquiries About Diagnosis and Treatment
6of Mental Disorders in Connection with Professional
7Credentialing and Licensing recommends that medical licensing
8bodies not ask applicants about prior diagnosis and treatment
9of mental health disorders; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Per the 2018 American Psychiatric Association
11Position Statement on Inquiries About Diagnosis and Treatment
12of Mental Disorders in Connection with Professional
13Credentialing and Licensing "Medical or hospital records
14requested shall be by way of narrowly tailored requests and
15releases that provide access only to information that is
16reasonably needed to assess the applicant's fitness to
17practice. All personal or health-related information shall be
18kept strictly confidential and shall be accessed only by
19individuals with a legitimate need for such access…Personal
20health information collected by the board should be kept
21confidential and should be destroyed after a reasonable period
22of time"; and
 
23    WHEREAS, Many initial and renewal applications for medical

 

 

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1licenses and associated applications and application reference
2forms, medical specialty boards, and institutional privilege
3and credential applications continue to include questions
4about physicians' mental health, and physicians who disclose a
5current or past mental health condition may be investigated or
6sanctioned; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Those applications that continue to make
8inquiries about a physician's mental health should use
9language consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act,
10which limits questions to whether the individual has a medical
11condition that currently impacts his or her ability to
12practice medicine; and
 
13    WHEREAS, American Medical Association Policy H-275.970
14addresses issues of potential discrimination and
15confidentiality violations in the licensing, privileging and
16credentialing processes; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we urge the Illinois State Medical Society delegation to the
20American Medical Association to submit a resolution to the
21American Medical Association requesting that Policy H-275.970,
22Licensure Confidentiality, be amended as follows:
23    "1. The AMA (a) encourages specialty boards, hospitals,

 

 

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1and other organizations involved in credentialing and/or
2privileging, as well as state licensing boards, to take all
3necessary steps to assure the confidentiality of information
4contained on application forms for credentials; (b) encourages
5boards these entities to include in application forms only
6requests for information that can reasonably be related to
7medical practice; (c) encourages state licensing boards,
8specialty boards, hospitals and other organizations involved
9in credentialing and/or privileging to exclude from license
10application forms information that refers to psychoanalysis,
11counseling, or psychotherapy required or undertaken as part of
12medical training; (d) encourages state medical societies and
13specialty societies to join with the AMA in efforts to change
14statutes and regulations to provide needed confidentiality for
15information collected by licensing boards and related
16organizations; and (e) encourages state licensing boards,
17specialty boards, hospitals and other organizations involved
18in credentialing and/or privileging to require disclosure of
19physical or mental health conditions only when a physician is
20suffering from a condition that currently impairs his/her
21judgment or that would otherwise adversely affect his/her
22ability to practice medicine in a competent, ethical, and
23professional manner, or when the physician presents a public
24health danger.
25    2. Our AMA will have all those state medical boards,
26specialty boards, hospitals, and other organizations involved

 

 

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1in credentialing/privileging that wish to retain questions
2about the health of applicants on medical licensing
3applications confirm the use of or will change by 2024 all
4inquiries of the health of applicants to the language
5recommended by the Federation of State Medical Boards that
6reads, "Are you currently suffering from any condition for
7which you are not being appropriately treated that impairs
8your judgment or that would otherwise adversely affect your
9ability to practice medicine in a competent, ethical and
10professional manner? (Yes/No)."
11    3. Our AMA will work with the Federation of State Medical
12Boards, the American Hospital Association, the American Board
13of Medical Specialties, and state medical societies to develop
14policies and strategies to ensure that by 2024 all new and
15renewal medical licensure and associated applications and
16application reference forms, privileging, credentialing and
17related applications and documentation will request or
18disclose only information that is reasonably needed to address
19the applicant's current fitness to practice medicine and
20respect the privacy of physician's protected health
21information."; and be it further
 
22    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23delivered to the Illinois State Medical Society and the
24American Medical Association.