Inpatient Standards of Care and the Suicidal Patient: Part I. General Clinical Formulations and Legal Considerations (IN: Risk Management With Suicidal Patients, edited by B Bongar, A L Berman et al)

This chapter examines general standards of inpatient care for the adult suicidal patient. The discussion begins with a review of the goals for the initial intake evaluation & then moves on to discuss general principles & standards of inpatient management. Issues relating to voluntary & involuntary hospitalization are reviewed. The authors provide 6 brief samples of court decisions on inpatient management to illustrate the twin criteria of foreseeability & causation. (39 refs.)