Involuntary treatment

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Involuntary treatment refers to medical treatment undertaken without the consent of the person being treated. Involuntary treatment is permitted by law in some countries when overseen by the judiciary through court orders; other countries defer directly to the medical opinions of doctors.

Some countries have general legislation allowing for any treatment deemed necessary if an individual is unable to consent to a treatment due to lack of capacity,[1][2] other legislation may specifically deal with involuntary psychiatric treatment of individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder.[3] Psychiatric treatment normally happens in a psychiatric hospital after some form of involuntary commitment, though individuals may be compelled to undergo treatment outside of hospitals via outpatient commitment.[4]

The diagnosis of mental disorders can be carried out by some form clinical practitioner, or in some cases law enforcement or others, to be a danger to themselves or to others is permitted in some jurisdictions, while other jurisdictions have more recently allowed for forced treatment for persons deemed to be "gravely disabled" or asserted to be at risk of psychological deterioration.

A patient may be detained because they are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder[5] or infectious disease.[6]

  1. ^ Davidson G, Brophy L, Campbell J, Farrell SJ, Gooding P, O'Brien AM (1 January 2016). "An international comparison of legal frameworks for supported and substitute decision-making in mental health services". International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 44: 30–40. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2015.08.029. hdl:10379/11074. PMID 26318975. S2CID 6564501.
  2. ^ Kim SY (2010). Evaluation of Capacity to Consent to Treatment and Research. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-532295-8.
  3. ^ "Mental capacity and mental illness". Mental capacity and mental illness. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  4. ^ Schlossberg, David L. (20 June 2017). Tuberculosis and Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infections. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-55581-985-9.
  5. ^ Sheridan Rains, Luke; Zenina, Tatiana; Dias, Marisa Casanova; Jones, Rebecca; Jeffreys, Stephen; Branthonne-Foster, Stella; Lloyd-Evans, Brynmor; Johnson, Sonia (2019). "Variations in patterns of involuntary hospitalisation and in legal frameworks: an international comparative study". The Lancet Psychiatry. 6 (5): 403–417. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30090-2. PMC 6475657. PMID 30954479.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).