The Chemically-Dependent Physician: Liability for Colleagues and Hospitals in California

This Comment argues that the chemically-dependent physician threatens the quality of medical care provided to the public and that the identification of chemically-dependent physicians is a major obstacle to the solution of this problem. The author examines the strengths and weaknesses of mandatory reporting statutes, corporate hospital liability, and individual physician liability as means to promote the identification of chemically-dependent physicians. The author concludes that the doctrine of corporate hospital liability along with the imposition of a common law duty upon physicians to report impaired colleagues are the most effective means of identifying such physicians. The author further argues that implementation of these concepts would also encourage utilization of California\u27s voluntary rehabilitation programs