ALL IN: WellBeing First for Healthcare

Remove Intrusive Mental Health Questions from Licensure and Credentialing Applications

Health workers aren't seeking mental health care despite their high rates of burnout and stress.  They fear losing their license and credentials because of overly broad and invasive mental health questions on applications that are stigmatizing, discriminatory, and violate privacy in the workplace--and may even violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This must change.

Ensuring that health workers can access necessary mental health care not only benefits their well-being, but it also improves the health of our entire country.  Patient outcomes will improve when we prioritize health worker well-being because to care for others, clinicians must also be cared for.

3 Steps to Make It Safe for Health Workers to Seek Mental Health Care

• AUDIT every single application your organization issues
• CHANGE application language to be consistent with one of the three criteria options
  • Option 1: Asks one question consistent with the Federation of State Medical Board's Recommended Language that addresses all mental and physical health conditions as one, with no added explanations, asterisks, or fine print.
  • Option 2: Refrains from asking probing questions about an applicant's health altogether.
  • Option 3: Implements an Attestation Model that uses supportive language around mental health and offers "safe haven" non-reporting options to physicians who are receiving care.
• COMMUNICATE these changes to your workforce and assure health workers that it is safe for them to seek care

Be Recognized as a WellBeing First Champion

As a WellBeing First Champion, licensure boards, hospitals, and health systems verify to ALL IN that licensure and credentialing applications have been changed to not include intrusive mental health questions.

Once ALL IN reviews and verifes applications are free of intrusive mental health questions, the WellBeing First Champion Badge and Communications Toolkit is provided to the organization to share their remarkable achievement.

The WellBeing First Champion Badge serves as a visual recognition that licensure boards, hospitals, and health systems are ALL IN for prioritizng health worker well-being.  When health workers are deciding in which state or organization to work, the WellBeing First Champion Badge can be used to show that a location will not require health workers to answer intrusive mental health questions.  

Learn more at drlornabreen.org/removebarriers/.