A Summary Of Ethical Issues In Psychiatric Inpatient Practice

Upon patients’ arrival to the inpatient unit, there are several ethical and legal considerations that are significantly different from a typical outpatient practice. First, privacy and confidentiality are extremely limited. For example, the facility is comprised of two separate units, both of which can hold up to 16 clients. The units consist of a common area, outdoor patio, the clients’ rooms, and a large office for staff. In addition, there is a resource room in each unit that offers the only area with privacy, when it is not in use. Therefore, assessments and therapy were often completed with other patients and staff nearby. For the present therapy session, the writer was able to obtain the resource room, which allowed the session to occur in relative privacy. Unfortunately, at times during the session, it is easy to hear individuals (i.e., staff and clients) talking outside of the room. Since client’s become aware of the limited confidentiality and privacy upon their arrival to the inpatient unit, the writer did not acknowledge or discuss those …show more content…
Specifically, Pelto-Piri (2015) found that staff often felt powerless when discharging clients because, in many instances, there was no clear indication that an outpatient clinic was going to assume responsibility for the client. Similarly, the writer was concerned about discharging JO into a negative situation. For example, it was possible that she was going to return to her parent’s house, not have the resources to attend her appointment with the crisis navigator, or discharge to her sister’s (friend’s) house and not have the resources to attend the meeting. Since there is always a potential for a lack of support for clients upon discharge, it is important to explore different housing options and mentally prepare them for different