Regulatory oversight: do psychiatric patients have the right to refuse active treatment?

A psychiatric patient's right to refuse active treatment is currently under question due to the current regulatory requirements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Legislation that was originally intended to promote active treatment is now rigidly interpreted, and today's acute care psychiatric hospitals are forced to override their patient's autonomous decisions in fear of legislation penalties. This article will briefly discuss the moral complexities faced by psychiatric nurses when attempting to balance their patients' right to autonomy versus the regulatory demands of the federal government.