The right of patients in mental hospitals to refuse drug treatment

The use of antipsychotic drugs has caused conflicts between the medical decision concerning what is in a patient's best interests and the legal decision as to what treatment constitutes a violation of the mental patient's right to due process. The medical profession has a duty to treat patients; patients have a right to refuse medical treatment. With legislation leading to the release of mental patients into the community, the focus has turned away from treatment of a disease and toward prevention through changes in social policy. The law has recognized that the state has an interest in compelling treatment and that the patient has a right to refuse medical treatment. The rights of the state and the patient are not absolute and must be balanced by the judiciary. The result is that a mental patient's right to refuse antipsychotic drugs mut be determined on a case by case basis. The authors propose that states pass legislation covering the rights of mental patients. A model bill is proposed at the end of the article. It establishes a procedural system which addresses the issues of informed consent, competency, emergencies, medical review, and judicial review.