PFSP 24-Hour Assistance Line

All services on the PFSP Assistance Line are provided by contractors who are external to the PFSP program and to the AMA. When you contact the PFSP Assistance Line, your identity and any other personal information you provide is known only to the Assistance Line operator and the Assessment Physician on-call.

All information shared through the PFSP toll-free Assistance Line is non identifiable by PFSP/AMA and is confidential.

Calls to the PFSP Assistance Line and referrals to our therapists are not documented in the provincial electronic health record.

What are the roles of the assistance line operator and the assessment physician?

The below graphic depicts the process that occurs when you contact the PFSP assistance line:

Case Coordination Service

For members with complex health concerns who enter into Case Coordination (approximately 30-35 physicians in any given year), there is an informed consent process in place to disclose personal information so that the Case Coordination team may liaise with your treatment providers, as well as non-clinical stakeholders who may be involved in more complex situations.

Entering Case Coordination is voluntary. The Case Coordination team will work with you to ensure that you understand what will be shared and the purpose of the disclosure. We will not share information without your consent.

Limits to Confidentiality

If a caller to the PFSP Assistance Line were to disclose that they were at serious risk of harming themselves or someone else, or that a child in their care were at risk of abuse or neglect, we would be legally and ethically obligated to take reasonable steps to prevent that serious harm. This could include contacting police or other authorities.

CPSA’s Physician Health Monitoring Program Info

All physicians in Alberta are bound by the College of Physicians & Surgeons (CPSA) Standards of Practice, which stipulate the reporting requirements regarding physicians’ medical conditions.

The Physician Health Monitoring Program (PHMP) of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta monitors and supports physicians with specified health conditions. This program is entirely separate from PFSP. The only time PHMP may be involved in conjunction with PFSP is if you consent to the sharing of information to support the maintenance of, or return to, safe practice.

Rest Assured, Your Confidentiality is Protected

Physicians are all well versed in the importance and necessity of maintaining and protecting patient confidentiality. As a physician patient it’s likely you would be reluctant to confide in a healthcare provider if you did not believe that confidentiality was an unstated assumption. PFSP applies this understanding and value to all of our work with medical students, residents, physicians, and their family members.

PFSP case coordination provides support to the participant and assists with access to the clinical resources necessary to meet his/her needs. The PFSP’s case coordination team does not act in a treatment capacity. With the participant’s consent, the team may liaise with the participant’s treatment providers as well as non-clinical stakeholders who may be involved in more complex situations.

Participation in PFSP case coordination is voluntary

2% of the total calls to the PFSP assistance line each year participate in case coordination. In 2018, 37 of the 1,836 individuals who called the PFSP assistance line accessed case coordination services.

Why are there two physician health programs in Alberta and do they work together?

The AMA and the CPSA are both invested in the health of physicians. The CPSA’s Physician Health Monitoring Program (PHMP) and the AMA’s Physician and Family Support Program operate independently, each with their own specific purpose. Interaction between the two programs can occur with regard to the small group of physicians who participate in PFSP case coordination. For purposes of helping a physician maintain or return to his/her practice and only with the physician’s consent, the PFSP case coordination team may share health information with the PHMP. Otherwise, all information provided by physicians to the PFSP case coordination team remains confidential.

The following diagram illustrates the unique purposes of PFSP case coordination services and the PHMP, and the circumstances under which they may share information:

Are there any circumstances where the PFSP is required to report a physician’s medical condition to the CPSA’s PHMP without the physician’s consent?

All physicians in Alberta are bound by the CPSA’s Standards of Practice, which stipulate the reporting requirements regarding physicians’ medical conditions.

When appropriate, PFSP will encourage the physician to self-report to the CPSA’s PHMP. In the rare instance where the physician does not self-report to CPSA’s PHMP and there may be serious harm to patients or others, the PFSP is obligated to do so. However, prior to taking that action the matter would be fully discussed with the physician.

Questions?

Questions about this process may be directed to the PFSP Clinical and Program Co-Director at pfsp@albertadoctors.org.

Over a 12-month period, the PFSP will cover the cost of up to six counseling hours for a physician, resident or medical student and up to an additional six hours total for immediate family. To be eligible for PFSP coverage, counseling must be pre-arranged through the PFSP assistance line.