Legions of Heroes

In follow-up to your article on Dr. Harold Eist's battle for confidentiality in the April 7 issue, I would like to call your attention to the fact that over the years many APA members have stood up for these important principles. Medical licensing boards investigating complaints, as was the case for our former APA president, are not the only institutions that have sought to challenge our resolve to maintain the special nature of our records. During my many years on the Colorado district branch Ethics Committee, as well as 10 years on the APA Ethics Committee, I encountered many courageous members who have faced daunting consequences to protect their patients' records against intrusions by courts, government, press, and insurance companies.

I hope that you might consider some investigative follow-up articles that reveal the courage of those unheralded members of our profession who, with little or no outside financial support and without coming to national attention, successfully risked so much to strengthen our standing as ethical psychiatrists.