The involuntary hospitalization system involves various problems. In the present study we aimed to investigate two topics: the possibility of cooperation with the judiciary, and the possibility of cooperation for the purposes of involuntary hospitalization through physical evaluation such as medical examination.
There is a fundamental difference in purpose between medical judgment, such as a medical examination, for involuntary hospitalization and judicial judgment. While the former consists of "assessment of mental disorder" and "necessity of medical care and protection for the risk of self-harm and other harm", the latter is concerned with whether to prosecute by verifying whether the patient committed a crime. Thus, there are large differences in the amount of information and the amount of time required to make judgments. Thus, cooperation between medical care staff and judiciary in the medical examination for involuntary hospitalization is difficult because of these different processes. However, in"gray-area cases", it is necessary to discuss how to achieve cooperation between medical care staff and the judiciary.
Medical examination for involuntary hospitalization requires the exclusion of mental symptoms such as those caused by physical disease and COVID-19 infection. As we must examine physical evaluation in a limited time period, we need to clarify the purpose of physical evaluation. In addition, the timing of physical evaluation depends on the medical care system and cooperation with the medical institution where the patient is planning to be hospitalized. However, it is not easy to find a medical institution to perform physical evaluation; therefore, it is necessary to establish a network for cooperation on physical complication medical care. In the future, it may be necessary to build such a system to receive hospitalizations at designated hospitals.
Author's abstract
How to Cooperate in a Medical Examination for Involuntary Hospitalization: Cooperation from Report to Hospitalization
Saitama City Hospital
Psychiatria et Neurologia Japonica
125: 415-422, 2023
https://doi.org/10.57369/pnj.23-058
https://doi.org/10.57369/pnj.23-058
<Keywords:medical examination for involuntary hospitalization, judiciary, gray-area cases, physical evaluation, cooperation>