Ethical and Safe Discharges from Psychiatric Units during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law

article

Rachel Belfer¹  Laura E. Gardner¹  Eric Broutman²  Jonathan E. Alpert³ 

[1] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine;Mental Hygiene Department;Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine

关键词: civil commitment;    COVID-19;    ethics;    legal regulation of psychiatry;    public health;   

DOI  :  10.29158/JAAPL.210074-21

学科分类：儿科学

来源: American Academy of Psychiatry The Law

【 摘 要 】

The current pandemic raises substantive ethical and legal challenges for inpatient psychiatric units striving simultaneously to contain COVID-19 and provide safe, high-quality psychiatric care. Among these challenges, psychiatric units need to consider their role in isolating and quarantining COVID-19 positive patients who are psychiatrically cleared for discharge. We examine this complex dilemma by evaluating mental health law, quarantine law, public health ethics, a case from an urban academic medical center’s inpatient unit, and literature focused on treatment and isolation protocols during HIV and tuberculosis epidemics. Although inpatient units are highly restrictive and intended for acute psychiatric treatment, at present there are no obvious isolation, quarantine, or housing options for many patients with mental illness infected with COVID-19.

【 授权许可】

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