Skip to main content

Abstract

Dispositional capacity assessment, which evaluates a patient’s ability for self-care after hospital discharge, is a novel concept with important implications for work in consultation-liaison, inpatient, and emergency psychiatric settings. In this Open Forum, the authors present an illustrative case, review literature relevant to dispositional capacity, and explore social theory that elucidates the concept. Psychiatrists are specifically positioned to provide leadership in this area. Psychiatrists should consider further developing and formalizing criteria for dispositional capacity assessment.
Tony (not a real name; other details in the following vignette were altered to protect patient privacy) was an elderly man brought by ambulance to the emergency department. Upon arrival, he requested discharge. He did not have his home keys and was unable to provide basic information, including his address or collateral contacts. He was seen by an emergency psychiatrist, received oral and intramuscular antipsychotic medications for agitation, and was admitted to the internal medicine ward for delirium. The primary medicine team consulted a consultation-liaison psychiatry team for further assessment. The consultation team documented differential diagnoses of delirium and unspecified dementia, with rule-out diagnoses including opioid, benzodiazepine, and alcohol use disorders. The team’s recommendations included thiamine and folate supplementation, as-needed antipsychotic medications for agitation, monitoring for opioid and alcohol withdrawal, delirium precautions, and gathering collateral information about family, friends, and other close relations. The consultation team concluded that Tony lacked decisional capacity to leave against medical advice. They recommended that he be continuously monitored by both a clinical observer and a security guard.
Several days later, Tony continued to request discharge home. He eventually shared that his wife had recently died. He admitted to using heroin and illicit clonazepam before hospital presentation. He still could not recall his address or provide information about next of kin or friends. The psychiatry team completed a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which indicated a score of 18 of 30 (on a scale where higher scores indicate better cognition), with particular deficits in executive function. A CT scan of the head revealed mild-to-moderate volume loss in the brain. The primary medicine team then asked the consulting psychiatry team to comment on Tony’s capacity to safely discharge home. The psychiatry team declined to comment, reasoning that such a future-oriented and multivariate assessment could not be made with the limited clinical data available. The psychiatry team recommended occupational therapy assessment and again encouraged the primary medicine team to obtain collateral information. An occupational therapist completed a Kettle Test, on which Tony scored 7 of 52 (higher scores indicate greater cognitive impairment). Ultimately, the primary medicine team contacted Tony’s neighbor, who confirmed that she had called 911 after finding Tony in an unresponsive state. Tony was medically cleared, given a naloxone prescription, and discharged with transportation directly home. He declined substance use rehabilitation treatment. Social work referred him to visiting nursing services and a home health aide.

Dispositional Capacity in Practice

Psychiatrists routinely complete decisional capacity assessments. Appelbaum’s criteria (1) guide questioning and documentation of a patient’s ability to communicate choice, understand information, appreciate consequences, and reason through options. These assessments are unidimensional and cross-sectional; they gauge capacity to make a discrete, binary decision at present. Bourgeois et al. (2, 3) coined the term dispositional capacity in 2017. The term is defined as “the assessment to determine the patient’s capacity for self-management postdischarge” (2). Dispositional capacity is multifactorial and prospective and involves envisioning a patient’s ability to care for self in the community and in the future.
Researchers have developed tools that aid clinicians when considering discharge options for hospitalized patients. Although no formal guidelines specify which cognitive assessment to use, clinicians often refer to the MoCA or the Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination. Functional assessments include the Assessment of Capacity for Everyday Decision-Making, MacArthur Competency Assessment Tool for Treatment, Langley-Porter Physical Self-Maintenance Scale, and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (4, 5).
Bourgeois et al. (2) state that, “It is timely to more fully integrate a standard approach to cases presenting with concerns over decisional capacity and dispositional capacity. A clinical practice of . . . ‘only answering the [decisional] capacity question’ is limited and problematic, and represents a lost opportunity to fully engage in comprehensive patient care.” This view echoes calls from geriatric care clinicians to develop formal metrics for capacity assessments (6). It also illuminates disposition dilemmas such as Tony’s, in which primary medical and social work teams do not have a defined clinical pathway to follow. There are clear opportunities here for psychiatric involvement in making decisional capacity assessments, synthesizing biopsychosocial data, recommending cognitive and functional assessments, and coordinating multiteam disposition efforts. This is particularly the case for patients who lack decisional capacity and are without designated surrogates or advance directives. This population currently comprises 16% of intensive care patients and 3% of nursing home residents (7).

Social Theory and Dispositional Capacity Assessment

We argue that psychiatrists should own, rather than defer, the responsibilities of dispositional capacity assessment. Perspectives from social theory and the psychiatric literature provide theoretical context for this complex issue. Sociologist Emile Durkheim’s (8) notion of anomie is pertinent to this discussion. Anomie refers to a mismatch between individual action and social norms. The anomic individual does not or is unable to ascribe to the oft-unspoken social ethic. The individual thus repeatedly breaks moral and legal standards (9). The unspoken and unable aspects of anomie are further elucidated by social theories of governmentality and biopower. Fundamentally, these theories refer to a person’s ability to internalize social standards in a way that allows for self-governance of health and well-being—that allows an individual to function independently without significant external aid (10).
In cases like Tony’s, part of what unsettles us as physicians interested in efficient treatment and discharge, is that an anomic individual, such as an elderly person with delirium, likely dementia, a history of substance use, precarious social connections, and a questionable ability to self-govern, has presented to the hospital. Tony is without kinship—the solidarity “mediated by blood and marriage” (9)—that connects a person to beholden others, provides “the first line of defense against misfortune” (9), and serves as the foundation for national social security. Fortunately, Tony has a collection of what Columbia anthropologist Kim Hopper (9) refers to colloquially as “but fors.” These “but fors” include the solicitousness of a neighbor and the diligence of the hospital providers. These connections constitute the difference between his marginal status and life in a “zone of social abandonment” (11)—what Princeton anthropologist João Biehl (11) describes as “places where the mentally ill and homeless, . . . the unproductive young, and old bodies” live and die.
In clinical cases where “organic impairment and past history interfere and pose a threat to health,” dilemmas frequently arise regarding how to preserve autonomy (12, 13). Cohen et al. (12) exemplify this dilemma when they bluntly state that the “elderly, noncompliant rootless individual” can be “impossible to treat.” Hamann et al. (14) echo that statement by observing, “The combination of marked participation preferences and impairments in the decisional capacity of individuals with aMCI [amnestic mild cognitive impairment] and early AD [Alzheimer’s disease] constitute an ethical and practical challenge.” Auerswald et al. (15) add that “delirium poses unique ethical challenges to the informed consent process, notably the preservation of patient autonomy in the face of potentially fluctuating decision-making capacity.” This is especially true in cases of delirium superimposed on premorbid dementia, a relatively common presentation in hospitalized individuals ages >65 (16, 17). Of note, the delirium overlay is often preventable with reasonable precautions, including orientation, mobilization, and avoidance of psychoactive medications (17). Perhaps, psychiatric involvement through dispositional capacity assessment could provide a space to acknowledge and ameliorate such dilemmas.

An Opportunity for Psychiatric Leadership

What are the clinical possibilities for advancing Bourgeois et al.’s (2) foundational work and developing dispositional capacity criteria akin to that of Appelbaum’s (1) decisional capacity criteria? This development might entail a codified, encompassing mix of qualitative and quantitative data that allow clinicians to make assessments that can be communicated across practice settings (i.e., psychiatry to internal medicine), hospital, and regional contexts. A start could be delineating a practical clinical pathway for making such assessments (see table in an online supplement to this Open Forum). As Bourgeois et al. (2) advocate, dispositional capacity assessment might be conceptualized as comprising both decisional and performative components. In addition to weighing the risks and benefits of home versus another disposition, clinicians should be aware that a patient would need to demonstrate adequate cognitive and functional skills before being discharged home.
To begin such an assessment, a psychiatrist could complete a psychiatric evaluation, decisional capacity assessment, and formal cognitive testing (e.g., MoCA). A social worker could obtain clinically relevant information about past function and possibly perform an in situ evaluation (e.g., a home visit). Occupational and physical therapists could tailor their assessments to comment on a patient’s ability to complete activities of daily living. The treatment teams could then convene to discuss an appropriate disposition to match the patient’s cognitive and physical capacities. The psychiatrist could document the dispositional capacity assessment, including a synthesis of the above data. The primary team physician, if different from the assessing psychiatrist, could make the final dispositional decision. The social worker could then arrange aftercare. With further research, perhaps patients could be assigned quantitative disposition scores, which could be compared with evidence-based average scores for different dispositions.
What are the potential implications for psychiatry in taking a leading role in this effort? Beyond filling a functional clinical role, dispositional capacity assessment has potential as an intervention on social determinants of health. It is a concrete procedure that can connect individualized patient care to broader calls for social inquiry. With a holistic dispositional capacity assessment, the psychiatrist has an opportunity to pause and convene a multidisciplinary team. They can consider the ways in which not only financial means and social supports but also factors such as race and gender might affect a patient’s postdischarge trajectory. Engaging in such a value-driven, protocolized, and team-based assessment could both decrease stress of primary medicine teams around discharge and thoughtfully match patients with complex neuropsychiatric conditions to disposition options.
Although some providers within psychiatry may prefer to defer dispositional capacity assessments to social work, dilemmas regarding the balance between autonomy and beneficence will continue to emerge in routine clinical care. Social workers are experts in identifying social supports and arranging aftercare. Psychiatrists are uniquely trained in performing decisional capacity assessments, developing differential diagnoses, and providing treatments. These decisional and clinical assessments are central to dispositional capacity determination. As default team leaders and clinical experts, psychiatrists should consider researching, codifying, and disseminating dispositional capacity criteria.

Supplementary Material

File (appi.ps.202100247.ds001.pdf)

References

1.
Appelbaum PS: Clinical practice. Assessment of patients’ competence to consent to treatment. N Engl J Med 2007; 357:1834–1840
2.
Bourgeois JA, Cohen MA, Erickson JM, et al: Decisional and dispositional capacity determinations: neuropsychiatric illness and an integrated clinical paradigm. Psychosomatics 2017; 58:565–573
3.
Bourgeois JA, Tiamson-Kassab M, Sheehan KA, et al: Resource Document on Decisional Capacity Determinations in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry: A Guide for the General Psychiatrist. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 2019. https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/search-directories-databases/library-and-archive/resource-documents. Accessed Aug 21, 2021
4.
Lai JM, Gill TM, Cooney LM, et al: Everyday decision-making ability in older persons with cognitive impairment. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2008; 16:693–696
5.
Lawton MP, Brody EM: Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. Gerontologist 1969; 9:179–186
6.
Kapp MB: Decisional capacity in theory and practice: legal process versus ‘bumbling through.’ Aging Ment Health 2002; 6:413–417
7.
Weiss BD, Berman EA, Howe CL, et al: Medical decision-making for older adults without family. J Am Geriatr Soc 2012; 60:2144–2150
8.
Durkheim E: The Division of Labor in Society. New York, Free Press, 2014
9.
Hopper K: Reckoning with Homelessness. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2003
10.
Foucault M. The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction. New York, Vintage Books, 1990
11.
Biehl J: Vita: Life in a Zone of Social Abandonment. Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, 2013
12.
Cohen MA, Dronska H: Treatment refusal in a rootless individual with medical problems. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 1988; 10:61–66
13.
Schreiber N, Powell T, O’Dowd MA: Who should decide? Residence capacity evaluation of a cognitively-impaired older adult requesting an “unsafe” discharge to home. Psychosomatics 2018; 59:612–617
14.
Hamann J, Bronner K, Margull J, et al: Patient participation in medical and social decisions in Alzheimer’s disease. J Am Geriatr Soc 2011; 59:2045–2052
15.
Auerswald KB, Charpentier PA, Inouye SK: The informed consent process in older patients who developed delirium: a clinical epidemiologic study. Am J Med 1997; 103:410–418
16.
Fick DM, Agostini JV, Inouye SK: Delirium superimposed on dementia: a systematic review. J Am Geriatr Soc 2002; 50:1723–1732
17.
Inouye SK, Bogardus ST Jr, Charpentier PA, et al: A multicomponent intervention to prevent delirium in hospitalized older patients. N Engl J Med 1999; 340:669–676

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Pages: 683 - 685
PubMed: 34555922

History

Received: 30 April 2021
Revision received: 23 July 2021
Revision received: 21 August 2021
Accepted: 25 August 2021
Published online: 24 September 2021
Published in print: June 2022

Keywords

  1. Psychiatric assessment
  2. Forensic psychiatry
  3. Practice guidelines
  4. General psychiatry
  5. Dispositional capacity
  6. Decisional capacity

Authors

Details

Blake R. Erickson, M.D., M.A. [email protected]
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Pope, Wainberg); New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Wainberg); Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Bromley); Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Center for Health Services and Society, UCLA, Los Angeles (Bromley); Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc., New York City (Pope).
Joseph Pereira, M.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Pope, Wainberg); New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Wainberg); Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Bromley); Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Center for Health Services and Society, UCLA, Los Angeles (Bromley); Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc., New York City (Pope).
Elizabeth Bromley, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Pope, Wainberg); New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Wainberg); Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Bromley); Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Center for Health Services and Society, UCLA, Los Angeles (Bromley); Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc., New York City (Pope).
Leah G. Pope, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Pope, Wainberg); New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Wainberg); Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Bromley); Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Center for Health Services and Society, UCLA, Los Angeles (Bromley); Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc., New York City (Pope).
Milton L. Wainberg, M.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Pope, Wainberg); New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City (Erickson, Pereira, Wainberg); Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (Bromley); Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Center for Health Services and Society, UCLA, Los Angeles (Bromley); Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc., New York City (Pope).

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Erickson ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

Dr. Erickson received support from the National Institutes of Health R25 Research Education Program (grant R25 MH-086466). Dr. Wainberg received support from the Global Mental Health Research Fellowship (grant T32 MH-096724).

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard

View Options

View options

PDF/EPUB

View PDF/EPUB

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share