The National Institute for Mental Health estimates that in 1972 approximately 1,645,367
patients were treated at inpatient psychiatric facilities in the United States. 1 Taking into …

Throughout the United States, mentally ill persons are confined against their will in
psychiatric hospitals as a result of being accused of dangerous behavior. Some are …

This article examines the impact of the New York court decision, Rivers v. Katz, which in
June 1986 dramatically changed the state procedure for responding to involuntarily …

Believing that if general hospitals are pressured into admitting involuntary patients without
adequate safeguards, care may deteriorate, the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society drafted a …

Background In every jurisdiction within the United States, statutes permit the state to
involuntarily hospitalize those persons who, because of mental illness, are considered …

Have you ever been puzzled about whether a patient has the capacity to make treatment
decisions? If the patient lacks the capacity to make a certain decision, do you know what to …

Debate continues over the ethics, constitutionality, and therapeutic benefit of emergency
involuntary hospitalization of the mentally ill (EIH). Critics of EIH have been concerned not …

Involuntary civil commitment in managed care settings may create conflicts between
providers and payers. Providers may determine that a patient, particularly one who presents …

Abstract Analyzes the Zinermon v. Burch decision, in which the US Supreme Court
addressed competency to consent to voluntary hospitalization. This case involved gross …

Over two decades of litigation and regulation on the right of the mentally ill to refuse
treatment have left psychiatrists bewildered as to the state of the law. Attorneys general of …