Some psychiatrists feel that outpatient commitment has a legitimate role in treating mentally ill individuals, especially those who are not even aware of their disease.
Refusals of psychotropic medication by detained criminal defendants raise conflicting dual loyalties for psychiatrists between the duty to treat a patient and the duty to protect society from that patient.
An ethical case describes the use of a virtual consultation with a pediatric psychiatrist when a 6-year-old boy seen in the emergency room has injuries suspected to be due to child abuse.