Physician Reluctance to Seek Care for Mental Health Conditions
Medical licensure application questions (MLAQs) about mental health are related to physicians' reluctance to seek help for a mental health condition because of concerns about repercussions to their medical licensure.
Dr. Liselotte Dyrbye, a Professor of Medicine and Medical Education at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, shares results of her study appearing in the October 2017 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, which examined the association between medical licensing application questions and physicians’ reluctance to seek care for mental health issues. The authors note physicians were more likely to be reluctant to seek care for mental health concerns if they worked in a state where initial/renewal medical license application questions asked about diagnosis or treatment for a mental health condition rather than only asking about current impairment from a mental health condition.
