- Comprehensive Evaluations -
Overview
Comprehensive evaluations are the foundation of Dr. Granovetter’s practice, providing independent, evidence-based assessment of a physician’s diagnostic status, functional capacity, and readiness for safe professional practice.
Evaluations are typically requested when concerns arise about a physician’s health, behavior, judgment, or performance that may affect professional functioning or patient safety. Referrals may come from medical staffs, hospitals, well-being committees, licensing boards, employers, physician health programs, or legal counsel.
Dr. Granovetter serves solely as an independent evaluator—not as a treating physician. The purpose, scope, referral questions, confidentiality provisions, and recipients of the final report are established at the outset of the evaluation.
Depending on the referral questions, a comprehensive evaluation may emphasize diagnostic clarification, fitness for duty, or both. In many cases, these questions are inseparable: the presence of a diagnosis does not itself establish impairment, while determining fitness for duty requires understanding whether—and to what extent—a condition affects professional function.
Clinical Diagnostic Examinations (CDEs)
Clinical Diagnostic Examinations address questions concerning diagnosis, severity, course, prognosis, treatment history, and other factors relevant to a physician’s health and professional functioning. CDEs may be particularly useful when a diagnosis is uncertain or disputed, when the significance of an established condition is unclear, or when behavioral or performance concerns require further diagnostic clarification.
Unlike a treatment evaluation, a CDE is an independent examination conducted for a specific administrative, regulatory, employment, or legal purpose and does not establish a treating physician-patient relationship.
Fitness-For-Duty Evaluations
Fitness-for-Duty (FFD) evaluations address the related but distinct question of whether a medical, psychiatric, substance-related, cognitive, or behavioral condition affects a physician’s current ability to practice safely and effectively.
An FFD evaluation may also address readiness to return to practice following treatment, medical leave, remediation, or monitoring, and may identify conditions or safeguards necessary to support safe professional practice.
Evaluation Process
Each evaluation begins with clarification of the referral questions and a written agreement defining the purpose, scope, confidentiality provisions, and intended use of the evaluation. The specific components are then individualized to the questions presented and may include:
Review of relevant medical, mental health, occupational, administrative, and other records
Comprehensive clinical interview
Collateral interviews, when appropriate
Psychological, cognitive, substance-use, or other standardized assessment
Laboratory testing, including urine, blood, or hair analysis when indicated
Structured assessment of professional function and fitness for duty
Consultation with independent specialists when additional expertise is required
Unless circumstances require an in-person examination, evaluations are generally conducted remotely using a secure platform.
The Integrated Report
The final report integrates the information obtained during the evaluation and directly addresses the questions posed by the referring entity. Depending on the purpose of the evaluation, it may include:
Diagnostic formulation and supporting evidence
Assessment of professional function and fitness for duty
Evaluation of relevant risk factors
Responses to specific referral questions
Recommendations regarding treatment, monitoring, remediation, workplace conditions, further assessment, or return to practice, when appropriate
When an evaluation includes both diagnostic and fitness-for-duty questions, these are addressed within a single integrated report, with distinct conclusions regarding diagnosis, functional capacity, and recommendations.
Reports are designed to provide referring entities with a clear evidentiary basis for informed decision-making.
Referrals Are Welcomed From
Medical boards and professional licensing bodies
Hospitals, medical staffs, group practices, and healthcare employers
Well-being committees and physician health programs
Legal counsel
Individual physicians seeking independent evaluation
Cost and Payment Responsibility
The cost of the evaluation is typically the responsibility of the individual being evaluated, unless other arrangements have been made in advance with the referring entity. Fee schedules are available upon request.