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Medicolegal and Ethical Issues in the Pharmacologic Treatment of Children

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Practitioner’s Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Physicians who prescribe psychotropic medications to children face unique legal and ethical challenges. The issues of competency, consent to treatment, patient autonomy, and confidentiality are important in this work, just as they are in adult medicine. The child and adolescent psychopharmacologist must also deal with the complex influences of family dynamics, child development, divorce, and custody as well as the involvement of parents, school personnel, and social service agencies in the treatment process. The fact that much remains to be understood in child psychiatry, the probabilistic rather than certain outcomes of medication trials, and the uncertain effects of new treatments on developing nervous systems all add additional layers of complexity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Law and Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, 02114-2517, USA

    Ronald Schouten M.D., J.D.

  2. Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, USA

    Kenneth S. Duckworth M.D.

Authors
  1. Ronald Schouten M.D., J.D.
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  2. Kenneth S. Duckworth M.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    John Scott Werry M.D.

  2. Psychology and Psychiatry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Michael G. Aman Ph.D. (Professor) (Professor)

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Schouten, R., Duckworth, K.S. (1999). Medicolegal and Ethical Issues in the Pharmacologic Treatment of Children. In: Werry, J.S., Aman, M.G. (eds) Practitioner’s Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0086-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0086-9_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-45885-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0086-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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