UW Medicine is being nationally recognized for changing its policies to make it less stigmatizing for healthcare workers to seek mental health care.
Why it matters: Healthcare workers face high rates of burnout, depression and suicide, but many avoid treatment for fear it could cost them their job or license, UW Medicine said in an emailed news statement.
State of play: Until recently, UW Medicine, like many hospital systems, asked providers about past mental health or substance use, even when unrelated to current job performance.
Those questions were meant to protect patients but often discouraged clinicians from seeking help, said Brian Johnston, a UW School of Medicine professor who oversees credentialing at Harborview.
The latest: UW Medicine revised its credentialing forms last year, scrubbing stigmatizing language and focusing questions on the ability to provide care now, officials said.
