Application of the AMA Code of Medical Ethics to Psychiatric Practice in Correctional Facilities and Access to Psychiatric Care in the U.S.A.

Abstract

The correctional psychiatrist, indeed the health provider of any discipline in this setting, faces ethical situations and challenges that are quantitatively if not qualitatively different from those in healthcare settings. Therefore, more so than in a purely healthcare setting, it behooves the correctional psychiatrist to consider how fundamental ethical principles apply to correctional settings. In doing so it becomes evident that promoting access to psychiatric care can be the single most widespread yet under appreciated ethical challenge in correctional psychiatry. Before addressing specific ethical principles, the organization of U.S. jails and prisons, the prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. jails and prisons, and the organization of mental healthcare in U.S. jails and prisons will be briefly reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)