Defensive psychiatry. An ethical perspective

Abstract

Introduction

The legal dispute between doctors and patients is increasing. The “frivolous lawsuit” is spreading and the psychiatrist is being dragged to court in the dock. Guidelines and operational protocols become the bastions of the defensive psychiatry. Defensive psychiatry involves, for example, a larger number of hospitalizations, also involuntary admissions, and psycopharmacological prescriptions.

Objectives

We want to see if the issue of defensive psychiatry is perceived by psychiatrists as a risk in their clinical practices and what consequences may result in the relationship with the patient.

Methods

Through an audit and through a literature review get to define the defensive psychiatry.

Conclusions

Though there is much confusions and uncertainty in this field, the defensive psychiatry distorts the relationship with the patients and proposes the questions of social control.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.