The Hoffman Report: The Investigation into the American Psychological Association (APA)

The Hoffman Report is the informal name for the 2015 investigation into the American Psychological Association’s (APA) practices regarding its relaxing of ethical standards for psychologists involved in torture interrogations. The full name for the report is, Independent Review Relating to APA Ethics Guidelines, National Security Interrogations, and Torture. It was authored by attorneys David Hoffman, Danielle Carter, Cara Viglucci Lopez, Heather Benzmiller, Ava Guo, Yasir Latifi and Daniel Craig of the law firm, Sidley Austin, LLP.

It was an extensive investigation spanning 6 months that reviewed over 50,000 documents and conducted over 200 interviews with 148 people.

The report notes that,

“Although most individuals were quite cooperative and willing to meet with us, that sentiment was not universal, and there were several individuals who declined to meet with us or did not respond to our requests.”

Also,

“This inquiry is made more difficult by the amount of time that has elapsed since the important events occurred. The key events relating to the APA task force report occurred 10 to 11 years ago, and the events relating to the ethics code revision occurred 13 to 19 years ago.”

The independent investigation resulted in a 542-page final report. It is available for download here

Independent Review Relating to APA Ethics Guidelines, National Security Interrogations, and Torture (PDF)

California suspends license for Fairfield psychiatrist

From a much larger report in the Daily Republic

The state has temporarily suspended the license for Dr. William Munn after the Medical Board of California said the psychiatrist, in private practice since 1972 at his Travis Boulevard office, put public health at risk by excessively prescribing drugs to five patients.

Munn disputes any risk to public health and says his suspension is detrimental to his 250 patients, who can’t be absorbed by the limited number of psychiatrists in private practice in Solano County.

The Monday suspension follows a hearing in Oakland and the filing by the state Attorney General’s Office about Munn’s prescriptions for the five patients.

Munn referred to providing one patient “telephone psychotherapy,” said the state filing, which describes the therapy as consisting almost entirely of the psychiatrist refilling prescriptions for large quantities of hydrocodone, a semisynthetic narcotic analgesic, as well as amphetamines and alprazolam, often sold under the trade name Xanax.

Another patient was prescribed large doses of alprazolam even though the doctor saw the person only once and continued to prescribe the drug for almost two years, according to the state.

Treatment of the five patients includes numerous extreme departures from the standard of care, added the state, which sought the license suspension until the Medical Board can ensure Mann safely practices psychiatry.

Recruitment for Psychiatric Treatment Trials: An Ethical Investigation

Abstract of the Report (Paid Access for full article)

This article is about ethics, specifically, the myriad of unethical practices characterizing recruitment for psychiatric trials.

Using a case study approach, honing on recruitment material, and examining the typical, the author explores recruitment in two studies—one involving electroconvulsive therapy, the other, a psychiatric drug. The bulk of the article is on these trials.

The ethical problems which surface include

• minimization of risk;
• euphemism;
• lack of transparency;
• false and misleading claims,
• unfair inducement;
• failure to mention most of the common and serious negative effects;
• and a predatory quality.

The author also identifies some worrisome new trends. Of special interest to the humanistic counselor is the attempt to implicate people’s own counselors and therapists in recruitment.

The article ends with reflections on the onus that such practices place on all practitioners striving to be ethical.

The author concludes that it is critical that counselors and therapists not be complicit and beyond that they take it on themselves to confront and expose. Concrete practice suggestions include adopting an explicit policy against such referrals, alerting any clients who may be considering such trials of the danger, and countering false claims.

Long Island woman says psych ward doctors believed she was delusional for insisting Obama follows her on Twitter

From the New York Daily News

A Long Island woman’s insistence that President Obama follows her on Twitter made doctors at the Harlem Hospital psych ward think she was delusional and suffering from bipolar disorder — but she was actually telling the truth, a lawsuit charges. Kam Brock’s frightening eight-day “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” ordeal at the mental facility included forced injections of powerful sedatives and demands she down doses of lithium, medical records obtained through her suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court show. They also indicate that doctors didn’t believe the leader of the free world followed her on Twitter — though @BarackObama follows over 640,000 accounts, including hers. They were also skeptical she worked at a bank, records show.

“I told (the doctor) Obama follows me on Twitter to show her the type of person I am. I’m a good person, a positive person. Obama follows positive people!” Brock, whose Twitter handle is @AkilahBrock, said.

A “master treatment plan” from Harlem Hospital backs up the Astoria Bank worker’s story.

“Objective: Patient will verbalize the importance of education for employment and will state that Obama is not following her on Twitter,” the document reads.

It also notes “patient’s weaknesses: inability to test reality, unemployment.”

Adding insult to insanity, the hospital hit Brock with a bill of $13,637.10, she charges in her suit seeking unspecified damages.

The bizarre experience began Sept. 12, when the NYPD seized her prized 2003 BMW 325Ci in Harlem because they suspected she was high on weed, her attorney, Michael Lamonsoff, said. Cops found no marijuana but confiscated her ride anyway, he said. The NYPD declined to comment.

The following day, Brock walked into the NYPD’s Public Service Area 6 stationhouse in Harlem to retrieve her car, her suit charges. Brock — an eccentric 32-year-old born in Jamaica with dreams of making it big in the entertainment business — admitted in an interview she was “emotional,” but insisted she in no way is an “emotionally disturbed person.” Nevertheless, cops cuffed her and put her in an ambulance bound for the hospital, her suit charges.

“Next thing you know, the police held onto me, the doctor stuck me with a needle and I was knocked out,” Brock said, tearing up. “I woke up to them taking off my underwear and then went out again. I woke up the next day in a hospital robe.”

Lamonsoff said race may have been a factor in the way Brock was treated. “How would you act if you were being told you were crazy?” he said. For eight days, she attended group therapy, endured injections of sedatives, and took lorazepam and lithium, medical records show, according to Lamonsoff.

When she was finally let go, the doctors didn’t tell her why she was being allowed to leave, Brock said. Harlem Hospital declined to comment. The city Law Department said the suit would be reviewed.

Big Pharma Is America’s New Mafia

We just came across this well documented column in the Daily Beast

Here's a snippet:

“Much of what the drug industry does fulfills the criteria for organized crime in US law,” Dr. Gotzsche said in a recent interview. “And they behave in many ways like the mafia does, they corrupt everyone they can corrupt, they have bought every type of person, even including ministers of health in some countries… The drug industry buys the professors first, then chiefs of departments, then other chief physicians and so on, they don’t buy junior doctors.”

Gotzsche isn’t the only one accusing pharmaceutical companies of wrongdoing beyond the marketing malfeasance they’re famous for. In Australia, during the Vioxx class action suit brought against Merck, company emails were released revealing that Merck employees planned to “neutralize” and “discredit” doctors who criticized the drug. “We may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live,” a Merck employee wrote, according to The Australian. Apparently, uncooperative physicians were targeted to lose academic appointments and research funding for telling the truth about the negative side effects they observed.

This is troubling—but even more so in light of the fact that it’s now widely accepted that prescription drugs can be dangerous and over the years dozens have been recalled. “Our prescription drugs are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. Our drugs kill around 200,000 people in America every year, and half of these people die while they do what their doctors told them—so they die because of the side-effects,” said Dr. Gotzsche in his recent interview. “The other half die because of errors—and it’s often the doctors that make the errors because any drug may come with 20, 30 or 40 warnings, contraindications, precautions…and then the patients die.”

This is a hard pill for any of us to swallow. We should be able to trust our doctors, who should in turn be able to trust “the science.” As amusing as Oliver’s “epic takedown” of doctors was, the trouble isn’t physicians prescribing a new drug because a drug rep brings us a platter of tacos, the problem is whether the drugs we have to choose from are truly safe and effective in the first place.

Chicago psychiatrist pleads guilty to taking drug kickbacks

As reported by ABC channel 7 in Chicago

A long-time Chicago psychiatrist pleaded guilty Friday to receiving illegal kickbacks and benefits totaling nearly $600,000 from pharmaceutical companies in exchange for prescribing an anti-psychotic drug to his patients.

Dr. Michael J. Reinstein, 71, of Skokie, has also agreed to pay $3.79 million to settle a civil lawsuit alleging that he caused the submission of at least 140,000 false Medicare and Medicaid claims for the thousands of patients he prescribed Clozapine to in nursing homes and other facilities in exchange for kickbacks.

"The defendant put his patients at great risk of serious health problems to benefit his personal interests at taxpayer expense," said Attorney General Lisa Madigan, whose office handled the civil litigation.

Reinstein's plea agreement calls for the government to recommend a sentence of 18.5 months in prison when he is sentenced.

Psychiatrist suspended after allegations of sexual misconduct

As seen in this report from NBC WREX 13 in Rockford, Illinois

WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader

Much more info in the video and at the link

A Rockford psychiatrist is immediately suspended after he is accused of inappropriately prescribing medications and being involved in sexual misconduct with several female patients, according to a notice of temporary suspension from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

The notice states Dr. William W. Wood is suspended as allegations against him "constitute an immediate danger to the public."

The notice details accusations that Wood violated boundaries with several female patients at his practice by sending text messages of a personal and sexual nature, kissing, touching, and hugging.

In addition, the notice alleges Wood inappropriately prescribed controlled substances, including Percocet, to at least one patient he was treating for depression, anxiety and panic attacks. The notice states that Wood was aware of that patient's history of prescription medication abuse and he continued to prescribe multiple controlled substances to her, knowing that she was overusing and overdosed on the prescribed controlled substances.

The notice goes on to state that Wood became aware that a local area Walgreens pharmacist refused to refill a prescription for this patient because she was taking too many medications. Wood instructed the patient to go to a different pharmacy.

These allegations are documented from July 2014 to November 2014.

Psychiatry is Broken

A very interesting blog post slash column entitled "When Psychiatrists Distrust Their Patients, Their Patients Can Only Respond In Kind" by Rebecca Vipond Brink

She reviews the problems she has had with Psychiatrists when they become arrogant, and do not take seriously what their patients are saying. Unfortunately this is all too common.

Here are some snippets

The worst psychiatrist I had, on the other hand, seemed awesome when we started — our initial appointment was an hour long, and she probed into my family’s medical history for clues about mine. It seemed holistic. As time went on, though, appointments became sparser and shorter — she was constantly double-booked, she got to the point that she was doing five-minute refill appointments, and I was eventually on four different medications in an attempt to treat anxiety and what we thought was depression in the fallout of PTSD. When I disputed her original diagnosis at my last appointment, she responded, “That’s just not what I know about you from our work.” Our work? She had only spoken to me for a grand total of maybe two hours at that point, while I had been out in the world living my life with my emotions. I wanted to be trusted that I was the best possible source of information about my well-being, not a brief description of a few symptoms and the DSM-V.

I told her that I wanted to get off of my medications because they just weren’t working — I was still having massive, debilitating anxiety attacks, nightmares, insomnia, paranoia. I had had a full-on nervous breakdown while on medications. And I didn’t feel like anti-depressants were appropriate, because with a lot of reflection, I landed on the opinion that debilitating anxiety looks a lot like depression but is not the same thing. All of my feelings and neurotic impulses were still very intense, and yet here I was, taking more and more medications in higher and higher doses to treat them, to no effect. Instead of weaning me off of anything, she prescribed two more medications. I found out later that some of the medications she wanted me to take had unsavory interactions that she didn’t disclose to me.

[...] All of this has left me feeling more than a little suspicious about psychiatry. I felt like my psychiatrist had dismissed my opinions in her care plan, and had distrusted me and my word without me having given her any reason over the course of my treatment to do so. I felt like I had had no control over my care, and that feeling of a lack of control over what was a major part of my life was devastating — I have PTSD because of abuse and rape. Control over my body is important to me.

Much more at the the link.

Just another data point of evidence that Psychiatry is Broken

The Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled that the state is not liable in a lawsuit filed by a former University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics patient who had a sexual relationship with a psychiatrist.

As reported by the Iowa City Press Citizen

Given the regulations that were in place, it looks like the shrink is the only one responsible for his reprehensible conduct. More details at the link

The Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled that the state is not liable in a lawsuit filed by a former University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics patient who had a sexual relationship with a psychiatrist.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, the appeals court reversed a previous decision by a Johnson County District Court judge denying the state's motion for summary judgment.

The civil suit stems from a 2010 relationship between Dr. Sergio Paradiso, then a psychiatrist at UIHC, and Sonni Giudicessi, who had been treated by Paradiso and others at the hospital in 2008 and 2009.

According to court records, the two secretly engaged in a sexual relationship from March to June 2010 — four months after Giudicessi had been discharged for treatment. Giudicessi's Des Moines-based psychiatrist reported the relationship to UIHC in July of that year, and Paradiso voluntarily surrendered his medical license in 2012 after the Iowa Board of Medicine found he violated the laws of medical practice.

Giudicessi sued Paradiso in July 2011 for medical negligence, battery, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other charges. She also sued the hospital for breach of contract and negligent hiring.

The appeals court ruled this week that there is no evidence that Paridiso represented to Giudicessi that their sexual relationship was a continuation of their previous counseling relationship.

"Paradiso pursued the relationship for his own personal interest and not the interests of UIHC," Judge Thomas Bower wrote in the court's decision. "... Paradiso's acts were 'so far removed' from his employment duties the State could not be held liable."

Paradiso worked in the psychiatry department at UIHC as a staff doctor from 1997 through his departure in July 2010. According to the ruling, UIHC resident doctors are trained that it is inappropriate to have sexual relationships with patients.

In the ruling, Bower noted that the department's head of psychiatry has distributed a list of "commandments" to residents and fellows, with the first commandment being: "Though shalt not sleep with any UI Psychiatry Hospital patient unless it be thy spouse."

The American Psychiatric Association Code of Ethics prohibits relations between current and former patients, and UIHC policies prohibit sexual harassment, Bower wrote.

[...]

Illinois regulators have disciplined Springfield psychiatrist Dr. Duttala Obula Reddy for alleged sexual misconduct with a female patient.

Springfield (Illinois) psychiatrist suspended for ‘sexually inappropriate’ conduct

A Springfield psychiatrist who took over the care of a female patient victimized by “sexually inappropriate” conduct at the hands of another psychiatrist in the same clinic was disciplined by the state this week for sexual misconduct with the patient.

Officials from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a temporary suspension of the license of Dr. Duttala Obula Reddy, a psychiatrist at Psychiatric Associates of Central Illinois, 1124 S. Sixth St.

For the time being, the state's action prevents Reddy from continuing to practice medicine legally. Reddy, a 64-year-old Chatham resident, couldn't be reached for comment, and an office manager at Psychiatric Associates didn't return a phone call from The State Journal-Register.

According to documents from the state, Reddy began providing psychiatric care and treatment to the woman at Psychiatric Associates in 2013 after her previous psychiatrist, Dr. Kripakaran Puvalai, resigned from the clinic in September 2013.

Puvalai, 58, was suspended from the practice of medicine by the state in October 2013 for engaging “in a pattern of sexually inappropriate conduct with multiple female patients of Psychiatric Associates.” Those patients included the patient whose care was taken over by Reddy, state officials said.

Puvalai, whose license remains suspended, was disciplined for flirting with and inappropriately touching several female patients between 2009 and 2013 while he practiced at Psychiatric Associates and worked as a consulting psychiatrist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' outpatient clinic in Springfield.

Puvalai also was punished in the early 2000s by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, during his psychiatry training in Springfield, for a lack of professional conduct and failure to maintain appropriate boundaries with patients.

[...]

This isn't the first time Reddy has been punished for conduct that allegedly crossed professional boundaries.

[...]

Read more: http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150101/NEWS/150109978/

This is one of those things that just invokes rage

A hidden outbreak of sexual abuse in British hospitals has been discovered, based on police reports in the last three years. A significant proportion of victims were molested by mental health personnel.

As Reported in the Guardian

Be sure the check out the full story at the link Also see this related news item in the Dailly Mail and this news report in the BBC from last year

Sexual violence soars in UK hospitals

Records show 50% rise in reports of sexual attacks, with more than 1,600 in past three years

A hidden outbreak of sexual abuse in British hospitals has been disclosed in new figures revealing that more than 1,600 attacks were reported to police in the last three years.

Records obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act show a 50% rise in reports of sexual violence in hospitals since 2011. It includes a total of at least 157 rape allegations.

Statistics on sexual abuse reports in hospitals were released by 38 out of 45 UK police forces. They document 1,615 attacks that are known about including cases on NHS wards, private clinics and other health centres. But prosecutors have said that up to 90% of sexual abuse goes unreported, suggesting the true figure could be much higher.

Last year the Metropolitan police received reports of 17 rapes and 124 other sex abuse crimes inside London hospitals.

Most police forces were unable to provide a firm breakdown of the types of hospitals where rapes and sexual abuse had been reported. However, the Met, which accounted for 20% of all reports, said the issue was a particular problem in mental health units, with a significant proportion of alleged victims identified as vulnerable due to mental health problems.

Luciana Berger, the shadow minister for public health, said the figures revealed a serious problem for the NHS and called for an urgent review of hospital security.

Individual cases of abuse in hospitals have been well documented but this is the first time the scale of the problem has been reported. The figures account for all reports of abuse, although a small number are understood to relate to historic attacks that occurred before 2011.

One victim described being groomed by her mental health support officer for five months. When she bumped into him years later it triggered a suicide attempt before she eventually reported him. However, the man resigned before the investigation concluded and authorities were unable to take action against him.

“I was in a vulnerable position at the time; certainly not in a position to consent to what he was doing,” she told the Guardian. “What have I gained by coming forward? Nothing. I’m just a person who has made allegations that haven’t been proven.”

In another case, a mental health patient described psychiatric hospitals as a “playground for predators”, after she was raped up to 60 times by a member of staff. The woman had been taken to Little Brook hospital in Kent after a breakdown and was warned she would be sectioned if she tried to leave. She described her ordeal to the BBC earlier this year. “At times I was on a very heavy amount of Valium, not to where I was unconscious, but the sedative combined with my already defeated self, I was like putty. He would pull the covers back, do what he had to do and leave, all very quickly. I didn’t move.”

When asked whether anyone else at the hospital knew about her abuse, the woman said: “I strongly suspect it can’t have been completely missed. I can’t believe how it could have been so frequent and not picked up on.”

She was eventually paid £100,000 compensation, but her attacker avoided jail after receiving a suspended sentence. A third case saw the care assistant Naraindrakoomar Sahodree jailed in 2010 for repeatedly raping a multiple sclerosis sufferer in her bed at a central London hospital. He had managed to get the job despite already being struck off the nurses’ register. In court, his victim said that Sahodree made sure she could not call for help by removing her warning buzzer.

Berger said: “A zero-tolerance approach to sexual abuse must be pursued in the NHS. All victims should feel safe to come forward and every incident properly dealt with by the police, courts and health service, to ensure every perpetrator is brought to justice.”

Berger said it was particularly worrying that people in mental health units appeared to be at high risk. “These are often some of the most vulnerable patients and their safety must be guaranteed,” she said. “Ministers must order an immediate review of security, with a focus on mental health units.”

Nat Miles, senior policy and campaigns officer at Mind, said: “It’s completely unacceptable that sexual abuse is so prevalent within mental health units. Many people told us they are often seen as vulnerable and therefore an easy target by perpetrators, and are more easily discredited and less likely to be taken seriously if they report a crime.” She added: “Too often, crimes on wards are dealt with internally and not reported to police. It’s vital that frontline staff are adequately trained, so crimes are taken seriously, and dealt with quickly and appropriately.” An NHS England spokesperson said: “It is of course essential that both NHS and independent hospitals do everything to ensure that patients are safe and feel safe in their premises, and where concerns arise the police must be able to bring to bear the full force of the law.”

Psychiatric patient awarded $40,000 after sexual assault at Seven Oaks Hospital in Manitoba

From this report from CBC news

A former unit clerk at Seven Oaks Hospital has been ordered to pay a patient $40,000 in damages after an investigation found the clerk sexually interfered with her.

According to court documents, in December of 2010 the woman, who is now 42, had a panic attack and was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Seven Oaks. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was being treated for anxiety, depression and alcoholism.

Within days of being admitted, she loaned a DVD to a male unit clerk. The man returned the DVD to her with his number enclosed. She says he openly read her medical files and another patient told her she thought the clerk was flirting with her.

A few days later, the clerk smuggled a cell phone onto the ward for the woman. A statement filed by the woman claims he began texting her sexually provocative messages. He also told her that he loved her and would "always be there for her."

On one occasion he followed her into her room and they kissed. They also met in his vehicle parked outside the hospital for a rendezvous. She applied for a day pass and he drove her to a liquor store and a hotel. Once inside a rented room, they drank large amounts of alcohol and had sex. The next weekend she applied for another pass and they checked in to a CanadInns Hotel and drank large amounts of alcohol.

The following Monday, the patient checked herself out of hospital and the unit clerk stopped texting her and returning her calls. On December 24th, she received a phone call from the man's common-law wife asking her to stop contacting him. The woman says she didn't know the clerk had a partner.

As the woman's condition improved, she realized what had happened and believed her judgment was impaired and the clerk took advantage of her.

A provincial investigation report filed in November of 2011 found that the patient was vulnerable at the time of admission to the facility. It states: "There is evidence that the patient was subjected to sexual abuse by the respondent who was a staff member during her hospitalization and that this abuse caused the patient harm."

The investigation report directs Seven Oaks to "develop and implement an educational strategy for professional boundaries and include all direct care staff who work with psychiatric patients."

Since the incident the woman says she has had bouts of anxiety and depression, suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and had suicidal thoughts. She also says she is now afraid of being admitted to hospital.

Lawyers for the woman have entered into an agreement with Seven Oaks to discontinue the claim against the hospital citing the hospital had minimal liability.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) and Seven Oaks Hospital "take the safety and security of its patients very seriously, and are aware of the case."

In a statement the WRHA said when the hospital was alerted by the patient, "Seven Oaks acted immediately by suspending the employee and notifying the Protection for Persons in Care Office (PPCO). Seven Oaks also conducted an investigation which resulted in the employee immediately being placed on leave as of February 16, 2011. As well, the hospital took steps to provide additional training and awareness to program staff about the importance and legal requirement to observe professional boundaries. This training is mandatory and provided annually."

Psychiatrist hired as chair at University of Alberta resigns amid sex scandal

As reported in the Star

A psychiatrist facing an allegation that he had sex with a patient in Ontario has resigned from his new job as department chair at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Claudio Soares was hired to head up the university’s psychiatry department effective Sept. 1, but was placed on leave before he could start.

The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons is investigating a charge of professional misconduct against him. It’s alleged that Soares had a sexual relationship with a female patient between November 2007 and May 2009.

At the time, he was a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and also director of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic, which is affiliated with the school.

Jo-anne Nugent, a spokeswoman at the University of Alberta, said she couldn’t confirm when staff officially hired Soares or when they found out about the allegation against him.

The university’s website says he visited the Edmonton campus several times as a candidate for the job and made research presentations as early as January.

Nugent said Soares was placed on leave the same day he was to start as chair. And on Monday he “resigned effective immediately.”

Nugent wouldn’t say whether the university plans to review its hiring procedures.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario issued a hearing notice about Soares on July 11. On Aug. 7, it sent a public notification to other provinces informing them that Soares was not to be left alone with female patients during its investigation.

Documents also allege that Soares failed to fully co-operate with an investigator from the college.

College spokeswoman Kathryn Clarke said Soares no longer has a licence to practise in Ontario. His certificate of registration expired on Sept. 1 when his academic appointment ended at McMaster.

“Despite the fact that he is no longer licensed, the referral to discipline remains in effect because we have continuing jurisdiction for professional misconduct or incompetence.”

She said it may take a couple of months before a hearing date is set.

Kelly Eby, a spokeswoman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Alberta, said it’s not known if Soares had applied to practise in the province, but he is not currently listed as having a licence or permit.

She said Soares didn’t necessarily need one. If his job as chair at the University of Alberta were strictly administrative, a permit would not have been required.

East Mississippi Correctional Facility was supposed to house the state's psychiatrically disabled prisoners, providing intensive treatment services. [...] Instead, MTC ran it as a for-profit hellhole.

East Mississippi Correctional Facility is a cesspool. Prisoners are underfed and routinely held in cells that are infested with rats and have no working toilets or lights. Although designated as a facility to care for prisoners with special needs and serious psychiatric disabilities, ECMF denies prisoners even the most rudimentary mental health care services. Many prisoners have attempted to commit suicide; some have succeeded. One prisoner is now legally blind after EMCF failed to provide his glaucoma medications and take him to a specialist, and another had part of his finger amputated after he was stabbed and developed gangrene.​

This video is the story of two people forever damaged by their time at East Mississippi Correctional Facility. Prison sentences mean time behind bars, not abuse. The Mississippi Department of Corrections bears ultimate responsibility for these atrocities happening on their watch. Share this video to help end the abuse.



See this extensive report at News.MIC (with many links)

"If You Need That Proof America's Prison System Is Broken, Just Look to Mississippi"

More Information via Courthouse News

Two Top Liability Risks for Psychiatrists: Patients with Suicidal Behavior and Psychopharmacology

Snippets from a Press Release by PRM, still relevant today

Patient suicides may trigger the most lawsuits, but according to PRMS data, cases with the largest verdicts or settlements don't involve the death of a patient, but significant and permanent physical and neurological damage requiring lifelong care. Such damage can occur from things like renal failure from lithium toxicity, severe Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or brain damage from a suicide attempt.

"Defensive medicine is not the answer," said Jacqueline Melonas, RN, MS, JD, Senior Vice President of Risk Management for PRMS. "Care that has a sound clinical basis that also is well-documented is the best way to avoid or, if necessary, defend lawsuits."

[...]

Donna Vanderpool, MBA, JD, Assistant Vice President of Risk Management for PRMS, noted that breach of duty or negligence is just one element of a malpractice lawsuit. Other elements include duty of care (to meet a standard of care), damages or harm to the patient, and causation (the harm was caused by the breach).

"A plaintiff has to prove all four elements to win a medical malpractice lawsuit," Vanderpool noted.

During the session, PRMS also focused on another high-risk area for psychiatrists: psychopharmacology.

"Most psychiatric ailments are treated at least in part with medication, and much can go wrong when prescribing," said Denita Neal, JD, a Risk Manager with PRMS. Issues might include prescribing negligently, failing to monitor the medication or failing to obtain inadequate informed consent.

Psychiatrist and Fox News Channel analyst Keith Ablow freely mixes psychiatric assessments with political criticism, a unique twist in cable news commentary that some medical colleagues find unethical.

Commentary by David Bauder as seen on the Website for Channel 10 WISTV in Columbia, South Carolina.

Here are some snippets from the column, with my own brief comment. I recommend that you read it in full at the link above

[...]

He's been a Fox contributor since 2007 after hosting a failed syndicated talk show. Identified as a member of the Fox News Medical A-Team, he hosts a regular segment about behavior titled "Normal or Nuts?" on the "Fox & Friends" morning show. There were published reports this fall that the network had extended his contract.

Rival news networks CNN and MSNBC say they don't have a psychiatrist-commentator under contract. CNN said the closest thing it has to something similar is when profilers come on the air to discuss the mental characteristics of people who commit dramatic crimes, for example. The network said medical experts don't get into politics, but others can have different interpretations. The MRC's Graham said opinion often drifts in when television medical correspondents comment on aspects of Obama's health care plan.

Ablow clearly enjoys being provocative, and his commentaries don't stick to his areas of medical expertise. Within the past two weeks he called for an "American jihad," saying the country should urge all nations to adopt a government form based on the U.S. Constitution. His comment this summer that Michelle Obama "needs to drop a few" pounds was widely noticed.

[...]

Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, said Ablow seems more interested in entertaining than in reflecting well on his profession. Lieberman is past president of the American Psychiatric Association, which discourages members from speculating on psychiatric characteristics of non-patients.

"It is shameful and unfortunate that he is given a platform by Fox News or any other media organization," Lieberman said. "Basically he is a narcissistic self-promoter of limited and dubious expertise."

Ablow isn't an APA member, having resigned in 2011 in a dispute over transgenderism.

It's not unusual for there to be an uncomfortable relationship between the medical community and doctors who get into television. Talk show hosts Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz have their critics. Dr. Drew Pinsky took heat for exposing rehab patients to the pressure of a televised recovery.

While doctors are entitled to political opinions like anyone else, the way Ablow tries to connect his views to medical analysis "is really just irresponsible and it's embarrassing for physicians in general," said Ford Vox, a staff physiatrist at the Shepherd Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta.

Ablow has occasionally taken heat from Fox colleagues about his commentaries. Greg Gutfeld of "The Five" said that "we should probably avoid blaming people for tragedies," in response to Ablow's criticism of Obama on Ebola. And the four women co-hosts of "Outnumbered" clearly didn't appreciate the attack on the first lady's weight, made in context of her efforts to promote healthy eating.

Keith Ablow is a doctor without ethics, and is likely accusing President Obama of the the very things that Mr. Ablow is suffering from himself. Things like "severed himself from all core emotions." and so much more. Mr Bauder has done a great service in pointing out the professional hypocrisy and lack of ethics of Mr. Ablow. Too bad that Fox news has decided to profit from his lack of ethics instead of upholding professional standards.

We also note several followup columns on Mr. Ablow such as these

The strange case of Dr. Keith Ablow [Politico]

White House Foolishly Ignores Insights Of Fox ‘Dr.’ Keith Ablow, World’s Worst Psychiatrist [Wonkette]

Fox’s Keith Ablow Doubles Down on Psychoanalyzing Obama as a ‘Narcissist’ [Mediate]

Which is hilarious since Mr. Ablow is ever so likely to be a Narcissist himself.

Of course, he had to something to defend himself, not that it did him any good

Fox’s Keith Ablow fires back after fellow psychiatrists denounce him as a hack

Media Matters posted a mashup of some of Ablow’s past commentaries on Friday, which can be seen below.



On the basis that he is guilty of what he is accusing the President of, Keith Ablow is Toxic, and it is dangerous for your mental health to believe Keith Ablow.

While there may be plenty of legitimate reasons to dislike and and disagree with President Obama, those of discredited psych Keith Ablow are dangerous to American Politics.

An Australian hospital offered a job in its psychiatric emergency unit to a doctor who had been deregistered over his lengthy drug addiction and ‘‘bizarre’’ treatments.

As seen in this report from the Newcastle Herald out of Australia

While addicted to psychostimulants, Dr Kim Street had painted the walls of his surgery black, was unable to pay bills, and exposed patients to experimental drug therapies without their knowledge. He prescribed the wrong drugs to pregnant women and elderly patients, as well as patients with a history of psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), erratic criminal behaviour, gambling addictions, major depression and social phobias. Dr Street, who moved to Swansea in 2000, faked patient prescriptions and pretended to pick up medications on their behalf. In September the Mater hospital offered him work in its psychiatric emergency unit under the supervision of Hunter New England Mental Health medical services director Dr Marcia Fogarty. That was despite Dr Street’s lack of acute care experience and the fact he had been heavily addicted to prescription drugs between 2002 and 2012.

Note: Deregistered = He lost his license to practice Much more about this train wreck at the link

Lawsuit by former Kamehameha students alleges decades of sex abuse at hands of school psychiatrist

As reported by KHON in Hawaii

Former Kamehameha Schools students have stepped forward saying they were sexually abused while they attended the school. Their claims were outlined in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in State Circuit Court by their attorney, Michael Green.

Green says for now, he is representing eight men who all say they were sexually abused and molested at the hands of Dr. Robert McCormick Browne, a psychiatrist who Green says worked for Kamehameha Schools and conducted so-called therapy sessions on the students, falling within a 21-year period from 1958-1981. Green says, at the time, Browne was the Chief of Psychiatry at St. Francis Medical Center and the boys were all younger than 16 years old.

“Many of them had minor problems at Kamehameha Schools when they were young, from 7th grade and 8th grade, and they were referred to Dr. Browne,” said Green. “If they did not see Dr. Browne, the threat was (they would) get expelled.”

Green says Dr. Browne died in 1991. According to the lawsuit, the so-called therapy sessions took place at the doctor’s home in Manoa along with a vacation home in Kamuela during weekend sleepovers. Green says the doctor was a dorm adviser and was given access to students at their dorm rooms. Green says the victims also allege the sessions took place at the doctor’s office at St. Francis.

The lawsuit comes just as the statute of limitations on the filing of child sex and molestation cases is set to expire next month, a deadline that was set two years ago by the state legislature. But there is a move to grant yet another extension for those who are willing to come forward and file suit. KHON2 obtained a copy of Senate Bill 2687, a measure that would extend the statute of limitations even further. If this measure becomes law, complainants who allege child sexual abuse will get to file civil suits up until they turn the age of 55.

State Sen. Maile Shimabukuro introduced the bill and also won approval for the two-year extension that expires next month. As for the age of 55, Sen Shimabukuro said, “It’s a way to strike a compromise between the rights of the accused and the rights of the victims.”

There's a video report

Wisconsin Psychiatrist Dr. Ron Rubin has medical license suspended indefinitely, accused of smoking pot with patients, prescribing dangerous amounts of prescription drugs, and even treating underage girls without their parents’ consent.

You can read the court order here The court order, issued by the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board, says Dr. Rubin overprescribed stimulants to at least 9 patients last year, many of them people he met at Wisconsin strip clubs. In some cases he prescribed six times the recommended maximum dose of amphetamines. As seen in this report

Rubin’s own lawyer admits the allegations against him are striking.

“The medical board I think hearing what sounded like some pretty awful allegations I think acted appropriately and summarily suspended his license,” said Hal Harlowe, one of Dr. Rubin’s attorneys.

It’s the first time he’s had any formal action taken against him, even though he’s been the subject of 11 complaints dating back to 1997.

“I think it’s awful particularly because I did attempt to take his, get his license from him,” says a former patient.

[...]

It’s impossible to say what he’s been accused of, because the state shreds complaints against doctors every 5 to 7 years.

From what little information is still available, it appears most cases involved allegations of professional misconduct.

The majority of complaints, though, weren’t even investigated. It’s impossible to say what he’s been accused of, because the state shreds complaints against doctors every 5 to 7 years.

From what little information is still available, it appears most cases involved allegations of professional misconduct.

The majority of complaints, though, weren’t even investigated.

There is also two video reports





There is a lot more at the linked news story

Disciplinary Hearing of Florida Psychiatrist Ronald Kurlander

As seen in the description on YouTube

On April 5, 2013 in Deerfield Beach, Florida psychiatrist Ronald Kurlander was disciplined by the Florida Department of Health. He was accused of prescribing drugs to people he had never examined or even met. The father of one of Kurlander's patients gave testimony as to the extensive damage caused by these drugs to his son. Kurlander is the one with the moustache and goatee with wire frame glasses seated to he left. He was fined over $30,000.00, given a reprimand, ordered to take a law and rules course, a drug course and a medical records course. Additionally, he has to undergo a risk management assessment.