The Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure supports the Mississippi Physician Health Program (MPHP), a confidential resource for licensees with health conditions that could affect their practice. You can contact MPHP directly.
How to reach MPHP
Phone: (601) 420-0240
Mail: Mississippi Physician Health Program, P.O. Box 2548, Ridgeland, MS 39158
Is it confidential?
The PHP was built so that physicians who seek help voluntarily remain anonymous. A physician who contacts the PHP on their own is known to the program only by an identification number. That number is not linked to their name and is not shared with the Board. The Board does not receive referral counts, names or any identifying information for self-referred participants. That anonymity holds as long as the physician stays in compliance with the program's treatment and monitoring requirements. A physician who falls out of compliance with the Physician Health Program may be at risk of losing that anonymity.
In MPHP's own words:
MPHP accepts referrals from any source including colleagues, hospitals, regulatory agencies, office staff, treatment centers, family, and friends. MPHP aggressively protects the confidentiality and anonymity of both program participants and referents.
While it is necessary to share certain information with collaborating entities such as treatment providers and workplace monitors, no information is shared outside of our organization without a signed release of information (ROI) from the participant. The anonymity of our program encourages self-referrals and early intervention, which protects patients and saves our participants’ careers.
Source: Mississippi Physician Health Program, "What is MPHP?" page, ms-php.org.
What MPHP is
The MPHP is a confidential first-line resource for physicians and other licensed health-care professionals who suffer from potentially impairing conditions such as substance-use disorders. The MPHP coordinates effective detection, evaluation, treatment, and aftercare monitoring of physicians with addictive disorders and other psychiatric illnesses. Our primary focus is on intervention and recovery, with long-term, intensive monitoring.
Source: Mississippi Physician Health Program, "What is MPHP?" page, ms-php.org.
Who it serves
MPHP services are available to physicians (MDs and DOs), medical students, residents, podiatrists, and physician assistants.
Source: Mississippi Physician Health Program, "What is MPHP?" page, ms-php.org.
Not sure if the program can help you? Call MPHP at (601) 420-0240.
The Health Notice
When applying for a license, every applicant sees this Health Notice in the Board's Medical Enforcement Licensing System (MELS) and must acknowledge it before continuing. It reads:
The Board recognizes that licensees may suffer from potentially impairing health conditions, just like their patients, including psychiatric illnesses, physical illnesses which may impact cognition, and substance use disorders. The Board expects its licensees to properly address their health concerns, in order to ensure patient safety. Licensees should seek appropriate medical care and should limit their medical practice, when appropriate.
The Board encourages licensees to utilize the services of the Mississippi Physician Health Program, a confidential resource which provides advocacy for licensees who may suffer from potentially impairing illnesses. (www.ms-php.org)
The failure of a licensee to adequately address any health condition which may impair their ability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to patients, will likely result in the board taking action against the license to practice medicine.
Source: MELS Health Notice.
