Legal Implications of Psychiatric Assessment for Medical Aid in Dying.

In recent years, several jurisdictions have passed legislation to permit medical aid in dying (MAID) worldwide, with considerable expansion in the availability of this practice. MAID has been defined as the practice of a clinician prescribing lethal drugs in response to a direct request from the patient, with a shared understanding that the patient intends to use the medication to bring about the patient's death. Wider legalization of MAID has prompted debates and legal controversies regarding the extent to which MAID should be available and its application for people experiencing mental illness as the primary indication.

The Evolving Standard of Care for Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Illness.

In recent decades, there has been increasing biomedical and public understanding of the role of autoimmunity in neuropsychiatric illness. Popular media have highlighted patients with psychiatric illnesses who were eventually diagnosed with autoimmune neuropsychiatric illnesses such as anti N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis. Coverage of these cases has often drawn attention to the effects of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of such diseases in psychiatric patients.

The Forensic Mental Health Implications of Social Media Challenges.

Children and adults are increasingly spending time on social networking sites where they may be exposed to social media challenges. These challenges, which are essentially dares or competitions, often involve participants recording themselves performing various activities to create a short video which they then share online. Many social media challenges may be considered relatively benign, but others may involve behaviors or tasks that lead to adverse outcomes, including injury and death.

The Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Death Row.

Despite high rates of mental illness among incarcerated people in the United States, use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains limited in jails and prisons. There are some published guidelines regarding the provision of mental health care, including ECT, in U.S.

Elder Financial Exploitation in the Digital Age.

Elder financial abuse violates the dignity, mental integrity, and fundamental rights of older adults. Reports of elder financial exploitation climbed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many older adults were targeted by perpetrators seeking to take advantage of their worries about health and finances, increased isolation, and relative lack of familiarity with the digital technologies prevalent in their everyday lives. This article examines trends in usage of electronic financial technologies by older adults and describes new technology-based mechanisms of elder financial exploitation.

Prior ablation and progression of disease correlate with higher tumor-to-normal liver Tc-MAA uptake ratio in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: Factors affecting tumor-to-normal tissue ratio (T:N) have implications for patient selection, dosimetry, and outcomes when considering radioembolization for HCC. This study sought to evaluate patient, disease specific, and technical parameters that predict T:N as measured on planning pre-Y radioembolization Tc-MAA scintigraphy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Tc-MAA hepatic angiography procedures with SPECT/CT over a 4-year period were reviewed.

The Use of Battered Woman Syndrome in U.S. Criminal Courts.

Although not recognized by any edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, battered woman syndrome (BWS) has been offered as a defense in U.S. criminal courts for several decades.

Estimating Annual Numbers of Competency to Stand Trial Evaluations across the United States.

In the United States, criminal proceedings must be halted or suspended if a defendant is determined to be incompetent to stand trial. Competency to stand trial (CST) is one of the most notable intersections between psychiatry and criminal law, and evaluating defendants for CST is a key role for many forensic psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Despite the significance of CST evaluations in U.

The Evolving Medicolegal Precedent for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in U.S. Jails and Prisons.

Medications for opioid use disorder, also known as medication-assisted treatment (MAT), are critical in the treatment of opioid use disorder. Historically, inmates with opioid use disorder in U.S.

Gallbladder Cryoablation: A Novel Option for High-Risk Patients with Gallbladder Disease.

Management of high-risk surgical patients with cholecystitis poses a significant clinical problem. These patients are often left with the options of permanent cholecystostomy tube drainage or high-risk surgery. Numerous attempts have been made over the past 4 decades to fulfill the need for a minimally invasive, definitive treatment option for such gallbladder disease.

Prospective study of mental health court and life satisfaction.

Many communities have created specialized mental health courts (MHCs) to reduce unnecessary criminal justice involvement of persons with mental disorders. Although MHCs have shown favorable public safety outcomes, such as reducing risk for criminal recidivism and violent behavior, there has been little study of issues important to consumers, such as life satisfaction. This study prospectively evaluated the association between MHC participation and life satisfaction using data from 140 participants in a quasi-experimental research project on the San Francisco MHC.

Laws and Ethics Related to Emotional Support Animals.

The use of animals for therapeutic benefit is well-established. For example, for individuals with a disability such as blindness, trained service dogs can enhance the ability to live independently and participate fully in society. An emotional support animal (ESA) is an untrained animal that is used to support a person disabled by an emotional or mental disorder.

Correlates of gun violence by criminal justice-involved adolescents.

Objective: This study presents a prospective evaluation of the contribution of criminogenic factors, psychiatric symptomatology, and neighborhood-level factors to risk for self-reported gun violence by adolescents with criminal justice involvement.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that elevated psychiatric symptom clusters would be associated with increased risk for gun violence after accounting for criminogenic factors and that neighborhood contextual variables would contribute independently to gun violence risk controlling for criminogenic and psychiatric factors.

Method: Data were drawn from the Pathways to Desistance study (Mulvey et al.

Effectiveness of Police Crisis Intervention Training Programs.

Approximately 1,000 people in the United States were fatally shot by police officers during 2018, and people with mental illness were involved in approximately 25 percent of those fatalities. Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training is a specialized police curriculum that aims to reduce the risk of serious injury or death during an emergency interaction between persons with mental illness and police officers. CIT has been implemented widely both nationally and internationally.

Correlates of gun violence by criminal justice-involved adolescents.

Unlabelled: [Retraction notice: A retraction for this article was reported in Vol 43(6) of (see record 2019-75174-001). The following Online First article published on September 9, 2019, is being retracted: Gonzales, L., & McNiel, D.

A Systematic Approach to the Detection of False PTSD.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after a traumatic experience and can cause severe symptoms that interfere with a person's psychological, physical, interpersonal, occupational, and social functioning. It is important to accurately identify genuine cases of PTSD and, as part of the differential diagnosis, to rule out instances of false PTSD. False PTSD diagnoses can adversely affect treatment planning, resource management, and research.

A Review of Statutes and the Role of the Forensic Psychiatrist in Cyberstalking Involving Youth.

Adolescents are increasingly exposed to Internet-facilitated crime as they spend more time online. The mental health risks and legal consequences for youth involved in cyberstalking are growing areas of concern. The nature of online stalking presents several challenges regarding investigation, fair adjudication, fact-finding, and legislation.

Current Regulation of Mobile Mental Health Applications.

In recent years, the availability of software that is targeted toward the general public and designed to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness or to promote general mental health has expanded greatly. Regulation of more traditional health care providers and health care-associated devices is well established by statute, regulatory guidelines, and common law precedents. Applications (apps), in contrast, pose a novel regulatory challenge.

Controversies Concerning the Canadian Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act.

In Canada, individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder are subject to the disposition recommendations of the Provincial or Territorial Review Board of the jurisdiction where the offense was committed. Bill C-14, known as "The Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act" made changes to the postverdict disposition process of these individuals. This legislation was consistent with a broader "tough-on-crime" agenda of the previous federal government.