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PubMed · 3237888

Parens patriae considerations in the commitment process.

H Bursztajn·T G Gutheil·R M Hamm·A Brodsky·M J Mills
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Abstract

Seventy-one commitment-seeking decisions made by 36 clinicians in a state-funded mental health center were studied to determine the extent to which clinicians attend to legally mandated "dangerousness" criteria in seeking commitment. A previous finding that clinicians rely largely on the dangerousness criteria was replicated. In addition, clinicians were found to be sensitive to clinical indicators of the patient's need for treatment, a question which is central to the parens patriae approach to involuntary hospitalization. Further, patients who were judged to be more seriously ill or more dangerous were more likely to retract their requests for discharge. This finding suggests that the patient's request for release and the psychiatrist's petition for commitment together constitute an interactive, transactional process in which the clinician's and the patient's views of the patient's need for hospitalization influence each other.

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Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric DisordersDangerous BehaviorHumansInformed ConsentPatient AdvocacyPsychotic DisordersViolenceJournal ArticleResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

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BibTeXRIS

H Bursztajn, T G Gutheil, R M Hamm, A Brodsky, M J Mills. 1988. Parens patriae considerations in the commitment process.. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01064241

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PubMed1992

National survey of current arrangements for diversion from custody in England and Wales.

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Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1992

[Ethics in psychiatry].

In psychiatry there are two major problem areas where ethical questions are of greatest importance. On one hand these are problems arising from commitment to an institution, e.g. forced hospitalisation and forced treatment. Swiss civil law requires in articles 397a to f that such patients may appeal to a judicial court. When this court is a commission comprised of an attorney and of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic specialists, it is of greatest importance that the patient himself be heard by the attorney and not just by a member of the commission and that this attorney also takes into account statements of relatives, as an incompetent patient may say things that are inconsistent with actual facts. As existing or planned hospitalization laws apply mainly to acutely ill patients who are dangerous to themselves or to others, the treatment of chronically ill psychiatric patients cannot be guaranteed. Thus conflicts of conscience arise, since physicians are required to provide medical aid; therefore if such aid is not given or if it is refused, a physician can be sued for inflicting heavy injury. Hence there is an urgent need for judicial measures that guarantee also the treatment of the chronically ill who, like all patients, have a right to be treated. A second problem area is represented by the ethical commissions that decide which scientific investigations may be performed on psychiatric patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗