Health professionals driving under the influence

There are anecdotal reports of alcohol misuse by doctors and nurses in New Zealand, but little quantitative analysis on the extent of alcohol-related harms in health professionals. We used data from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) to calculate the rate of charges for driving under the influence in health and other professionals. Health professionals had the lowest rate of driving under the influence in a three year period from 2012 to 2015, compared with other professional groups. Reasons for this lower rate could include a disincentive for many health professionals to drive under the influence due to potential consequences for their practice. Further research into other forms of alcohol-related harm in health professionals is needed.