Psychiatry and the dying prisoner.

Due to the growing number of ageing prisoners in the American correctional system, penal institutions are increasingly caring for patients with chronic and potentially terminal medical conditions. To address this problem states have attempted sentencing reform initiatives and adopted compassionate release programmes; however, these efforts have failed to significantly reduce the number of elderly or seriously ill inmates. Correctional mental health services are now called upon to aid in the care of prisoners at the end of life. This article presents the common elements of prison hospice programmes and the role psychiatry plays in this multidisciplinary effort. The right-to-die movement holds future implications for correctional mental health professionals. The historical and legal background of this international movement is presented with particular attention given to landmark cases and statutes protecting institutionalized patients.

My three shrinks: Personal stories of social media exploration.

Three psychiatrist authors illustrate the impact of social media on their professional lives by reflecting on personal stories about their experiences with social media. They reflect on their experiences with listservs, chat rooms, online forums, blogs, podcasts, and other interactive media, while recounting actual stories involving those media. The impact of social media on professional advocacy across broad populations is addressed. In addition, the use of social media in educating psychiatric trainees and informing forensic evaluations is discussed. Finally, social media as a tool for enhancing consumer advocacy and addressing controversial patient safety procedures in emergency settings is discussed.

Terminal anorexia nervosa is a dangerous term: it cannot, and should not, be defined.

A recent article (JED 10:23, 2022) proposed defining terminal anorexia to improve access to palliative and hospice care, and to medical aid in dying for a minority of patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN). The authors presented three cases and, for two, the first author participated in their death. Anorexia nervosa is a treatable psychiatric condition for which recovery may be uncertain. We are greatly concerned however regarding implications of applying the label "terminal" to anorexia nervosa and the risk it will lead to unjustified deaths in individuals whose mental illness impairs their capacity to make a reasoned treatment decision.

Limiting inpatient substance use treatment: what are the consequences?

This study tested whether a managed care policy of substituting outpatient for inpatient treatment of substance use disorders shifted treatment costs to psychiatric providers. This was an observational study, based on administrative data of 25,450 adult disabled Medicaid beneficiaries treated for schizophrenia and major affective disorders. Eighteen percent had a diagnosis of substance use disorder. Multivariate regression was used to determine the odds of having a hospital admission and the relationship of managed care to hospital length of stay and total per person treatment expenditures. Hospital admissions and length of stay for both substance use disorder and psychiatric treatment were reduced, but adults with a dual diagnosis had higher annual expenditures compared to those with only a psychiatric diagnosis. There was no evidence of cost shifting. Although emphasis on outpatient treatment did not result in cost shifting, the combination of substance use disorder and psychiatric illness remains an expensive public health problem.

Case reports: Publication standards in forensic psychiatry.

Psychiatrists who publish case reports are required to seek informed consent from their subjects on the basis of the ethics-related obligation to maintain patient confidentiality. Academic journals have developed editorial standards to fulfill this obligation. Forensic evaluations do not create a doctor-patient relationship in the traditional sense, and information obtained through a forensic evaluation may also be found in the public domain. This public exposure is particularly likely, given the development of open access publishing standards, online journals, and increasing professional involvement in social media. This article outlines the ethics of informed consent in published case reports for general and forensic psychiatry and offers recommendations for forensic case study publishing. The authors suggest changes in the current requirements stated in The Journal for publication of case reports.

Dual agency and ethics conflicts in correctional practice: sources and solutions.

Psychiatrists working in corrections, particularly in areas that have a shortage of forensic practitioners, may encounter a variety of ethics-related conflicts, especially when working both as clinicians and forensic evaluators within smaller systems. Such conflicts may include unavoidable dual treating and forensic evaluator relationships, and awareness of information that may complicate patient treatment or influence forensic opinions. Additional conflicts may arise if the psychiatrist is also retained privately to conduct forensic evaluations involving inmates in the same facility or facilities where the psychiatrist is otherwise employed, specifically because he may have duties to both a retaining party and an employer. Early-career psychiatrists, those who are completing their training in forensic psychiatry, and general psychiatrists who practice in corrections may be unfamiliar with the ethics-related dilemmas that arise in jails or prisons. Ethics courses during medical school and residency, while required, rarely discuss dilemmas specific to correctional settings. Furthermore, many psychiatrists practicing in corrections do not undergo formal training in forensic psychiatry, and even among different fellowship programs, the amount of time devoted to corrections varies significantly. The authors discuss hypothetical cases that reflect situations encountered, particularly by psychiatric fellows, forensic psychiatrists new to correctional work, and nonforensic clinicians working in corrections, a setting where dual agency is common and at times in conflict with core principles of ethics, including beneficence, nonmaleficence, neutrality, objectivity, and justice.