PAIME (Sickness situation)

Background

More than twenty years ago, the Program for the Integral Care of the Sick Physician (PAIME) was launched, created by physicians and aimed exclusively at sick physicians.

Unique in Spain from the professional point of view and a reference in Europe and the world, it is implemented in all the autonomous communities.

Objectives

Under the auspices of the Fundación para la Protección Social de la Organización Médica Colegial (FPSOMC), its objective is to protect the public and physicians by providing specialized health care to practicing physicians with substance abuse problems and/or mental illnesses, in order to facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of the affected physician into his or her working life, thus guaranteeing quality health care for patients and confidentiality for the physician included in the program.

How to access it

All active physicians, i.e., those who are not disabled or retired, are entitled to receive the assistance, since the Program was created so that physicians with psychiatric and/or addictive problems could return to their professional work under the best conditions and with the maximum guarantees for their patients.

Pathology

Estimates suggest that one in ten physicians may suffer one or more episodes related to mental illness and/or addictive behaviors in their professional life, but fear, feelings of guilt or social stigmatization of the disease may lead them to hide and deny the pathology. This situation has repercussions on their family and professional environment, with the risk of deriving in malpractice and committing errors and negligence.

PAIME at COMA

At the Institutions of Physicians of Alicante, responsibility for the PAIME program is in the hands of the General Secretary, Dr. Jose Manuel Peris. It has specialized therapists for outpatient treatment and inpatient centers under the protection of the WTO, in its Foundation for Social Protection. In the case of the Valencian Community, the program is financed by the provincial colleges, which assume the cost of outpatient treatment, unlike what happens in other autonomous regions that have collaborations and aid from their Ministry of Health.

Contact

You can contact the person in charge of the PAIME Program at COMA through the one-stop shop or by telephone (618 185 770 – 965 261 011). The assignment of a fictitious name with the inclusion in the program will help preserve your identity and discretion.