Marijuana as Medicine

The medical use of marijuana has received considerable attention as several states have voted to remove civil and criminal penalties for patients with qualifying conditions. Yet, on a national level, marijuana remains a schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the most restrictive schedule enforced by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (1). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), responsible for approving treatments after appropriate and rigorous study, addit

Physician Health Programs in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders in Physicians

In 1974, the American Medical Association (AMA) acknowledged physician impairment from alcoholism and drug dependence occurs, and recognized alcoholism and addiction as illnesses. Physician illness and impairment exist on a continuum with illness typically predating impairment, often by many years. This is a critically important distinction. Illness is the existence of a disease. Impairment is a functional classification and implies the inability of the person affected by disease to perform spec

Consent for Voluntary Hospitalization of Minors

This resource document seeks to lay out the major issues involved in formulating the rules governing the psychiatric hospitalization of minors so that psychiatrists can be better informed when rendering their judgment in particular cases. Admission for substance use treatment raises somewhat different concerns that are not addressed in this document.

Psychotherapy as an Essential Skill of Psychiatrists

Resource Document on Psychotherapy as an Essential Skill of Psychiatrists

Advocacy Teaching in Psychiatry Residency Training Programs

Advocacy, generically defined as the active support for a particular cause, policy, or issue, is applicable to medicine and psychiatry as physicians’ responsible use of “their expertise and influence to advance the health and well-being of individual patients, communities, and populations” (Frank, 2005). Advocacy can be undertaken from within an organization or as an outside stakeholder, and it can focus on a single theme (e.g., Barber, 2008) or more generally on issues that relate to patient ne

College Mental Health and Confidentiality

College homicides and suicides often precipitate reviews of regulations, statutes and case law governing treatment and confidentiality.1 In April 2007, for example, a college senior at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University killed 32 students and faculty, wounded many others and then killed himself. The review panel appointed by the Governor found significant confusion among university officials about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)2, the federal law governing

Why Should More Psychiatrists Participate in the Treatment of Patients in Jails and Prisons?

People with serious mental illness are substantially overrepresented in the criminal justice system. (Steadman, et al. 2009; Fazel et al. 2016) This results in a higher prevalence of mentally ill patients in correctional facilities than in the community and the high proportion of justice-involved patients in county and state mental health systems. State hospitals that remain after decades of deinstitutionalization have seen their beds fill with large proportions of criminal court commitments whi

Complementary and alternative medicine in major depressive disorder

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a term used to represent a number of specific treatments with potentially high public health importance and benefits. That which constitutes conventional or mainstream medicine is subjective and evolves over time. “Complementary” refers to approaches that are not considered mainstream or conventional, but are consistent with Western concepts based on the biomedical model. “Alternative” approaches are usually considered outside of the traditio

Responding to Negative Online Reviews

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Ethics Committee occasionally receives inquiries from members who are troubled by negative reviews about them or their practice posted online by patients or other individuals. This often creates a difficult dilemma for the psychiatrist who must respect the patient’s voice but also desires to preserve the integrity of the psychiatrist’s public image. This resource document is offered to provide guidance to psychiatrists regarding receipt of negative onli

Position Statement on Legal Proceedings and Access to Psychiatric Care for Juvenile Offenders

Position Statement on Legal Proceedings and Access to Psychiatric Care for Juvenile Offenders

Guidelines to District Branches for a policy on physician impairment

The American Psychiatric Association has resolved to promote the mental and physical health of all physicians toward the goal of insuring optimum care of patients, protecting the public from possible harm by an impaired physician, preventing loss of valuable medical manpower, and helping the impaired physician regain health and productivity. The APA recognizes that psychiatrists, like other physicians, are at risk for impairment by mental and physical disorders, including addiction (or substance

Implementation of Measurement-Based Care

A guide to develop resources to help solo as well as small-group psychiatrist practices and health systems including psychiatric care implement measurement-based care into routine practice.