A Basic Decision-Making Approach to Common Ethical Issues in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

Abstract

Ethical dilemmas abound in psychosomatic medicine, and for many reasons, consultation-liaison psychiatrists are called on to help resolve complex ethical issues in clinical care settings. Unfortunately, most psychiatrists have had little training in clinical ethics to prepare them for this important professional responsibility. Consultation-liaison psychiatrists do not need to become clinical ethicists, but these subspecialty physicians may find it valuable to have increased expertise when handling the ethical issues commonly seen in diverse clinical settings. Here, we offer a method of ethical analysis and decision making (the Four Topics Method) and four illustrations drawn from real and complicated medical-psychiatric cases that may be useful to consultation-liaison psychiatrists. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.