Forensic Psychiatry: Focus on Malpractice and Risk Management

Receiving a notice of being sued for malpractice or a letter from a medical licensing board about a complaint is the first step in one of the most upsetting journeys for a psychiatrist—defending one’s judgment in a malpractice suit or license investigation. This issue of Focus seeks to address the most common clinical issues that give rise to such actions, to aid the reader in preventing an adverse legal action from developing, and to help diminish the uncertainty about the process that ensues in such proceedings.

When I was invited to edit an issue of Focus on a forensic topic, I immediately thought of liability issues. As a member of the Psychiatry & Law Committee of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP), I raised the topic with the committee as a possible project. GAP was founded in 1947 as a think tank for psychiatry, and the GAP Psychiatry & Law Committee consists of psychiatrist members with a special interest in forensic issues. I was very pleased that the committee volunteered to take on the project of writing the articles for this issue. Each article is authored or coauthored by a member of the committee, and all members of the committee, as well as the GAP Publication Board, reviewed and commented on each article. So, while each article has listed primary authors, each has had significant input from multiple GAP members. I hope that Focus readers find the articles useful.