Working in a Flawed Mental Health Care System: An Ethical Challenge

OBJECTIVE: Psychiatrists are under immense ethical pressure when practicing in circumstances that reasonable, informed colleagues would regard as not “good enough” in that they do not adequately meet the needs of patients and patients’ families. This article is an examination of the ethical quandaries that ensue and options for response. METHOD: The authors explore the ways in which mental health systems may become flawed and compare philosophical arguments that deal with the predicament of working in such systems. RESULTS: The principle of fidelity to the patient is compromised in flawed systems, thus threatening professional integrity. Arguments for efficiency or the greater good in the provision of mental health care fail as remedies since they both lead to harms for particular clinical groups, as well as downgrading of a psychiatrist’s integrity. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatrists should submit to the principle of fidelity in working with patients. Since flawed systems undermine fidelity, threatening the patient’s interests, psychiatrists are morally responsible for working to improve such systems.