Addiction in Anaesthesiologists and its Implications on Anaesthesia

The problem of addiction and substance abuse among physicians has been reported as early as 1869 [1]. But, medical community is generally reluctant to accept and report the problem of addiction among health care professionals. Anaesthesiologist by virtue of their work profile and easy accessibility of potentially addicting drugs are at an increased risk of drug addiction. The incidence of abuse is estimated to be around 1% in faculty members and 1.6% of residents in training programs [2]. As high as 1/4th of the medical professionals reported for abuse are anaesthesiologists.