Efforts toward education and prevention

AS PRESIDENT of the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists, I want to respond to "Something, anything to stop the pain" (Page A1, Nov. 9), which told the story of a young addicted anesthesiologist who ultimately died as a result of his addiction. Much is being done to prevent addiction among anesthesiologists and other physicians and keep patients safe.

The MSA knows that the availability of addictive anesthetic drugs places a greater responsibility on our profession to provide training and education for residents and doctors regarding drug addiction.

For this reason, the MSA in conjunction with the American Society of Anesthesiologists created a task force on chemical dependence some years ago that developed a model curriculum on drug abuse and addiction for residents in anesthesiology. Today virtually all anesthesia training programs have a high level of commitment to educating residents about addiction. And as a result, impaired physicians are more readily identified.

Educating residents can be an effective method to prevent the disease as well as to help treat victims as quickly as possible. In addition, we offer a booklet titled "Chemical Dependence in Anesthesiologists" that provides insights on signs and symptoms of the disease as well as recommendations on intervention and treatment.

Dr. Beverly K. Philip
Marshfield