HPRP – Health Professional Recovery Program

Like lawyers and judges, health care professionals are susceptible to high levels of stress, and correspondingly high levels of drug and alcohol abuse.  Also like lawyers, for health professionals convicted of a crime involving alcohol or drugs, such as drunk driving, the law requires notification to the board following a conviction.  Such notice must be within thirty days after the date of conviction.  MCL § 333.16222(3).  Any failure to meet this reporting requirement subjects the health professional to a separate licensing violation.  MCL § 333.16221(h).   

As with lawyers, the sanctions imposed for failing to report are often worse than those that follow the actual conviction and may include a suspension of the professional license for some period of time, which is usually 30 to 60 days.

A convicted health professional is likely to be required to participate in the Health Care Professionals Recovery Program (HPRP).  MCL § 333.16105a.  This is a fairly intense substance abuse treatment program.

According to their web site:

The Health Professional Recovery Program (HPRP) was established by legislation in 1993. This confidential program is designed to encourage health professionals to seek treatment before their impairment harms a patient or damages their careers through disciplinary or regulatory action. It is administered by a private-sector contractor under the direction of the Health Professional Recovery Committee (a multi-disciplinary committee) and the Bureau of Health Professions in the Department of Community Health (DCH).

By motivating health professional licensees to enter treatment and to recover from their impairment, the HPRP will serve to minimize the losses and other negative impacts which have occurred in the past when diseases of addiction and mental health were addressed only as if they were criminal acts. The people of the State of Michigan will benefit from the continued and safe care of these professionals, without the unnecessary interruptions of practice which often were required by the disciplinary process. Furthermore, the licensing boards will be more able to address those cases of health professionals who truly need to be disciplined.

It is the philosophy of the HPRP that chemical dependency and mental illness are treatable conditions. By providing health professionals an opportunity to enter into treatment and to recover from their diseases early in the disease process, the HPRP can serve to minimize negative impacts on licensees/registrants, patients and their families and friends.

The HPRP is a confidential program. Once licensees/registrants or applicants are accepted into HPRP, their participation and records are not subject to subpoena or the Freedom of Information Act. Through this caring and compassionate approach to the treatable conditions which may cause impairment, the HPRP is able to bring opportunity for recovery without the threat of punishment.

To contact HPRP phone (800) 453-3784