Treatment delays for involuntary psychiatric patients associated with reviews of treatment capacity.

OBJECTIVE To determine the duration of delays in treatment initiation when involuntary patients apply for a review of a finding of treatment incapacity and to estimate the cost of keeping patients hospitalized without treatment in these circumstances. METHOD Using a computerized database and written records, we identified all patients at 2 psychiatric hospitals in Ontario who applied for a review of a finding of treatment incapacity during a 10-year period. We recorded clinical and demographic variables, dates of stopping and starting medication, and dates of review board hearings and outcomes. We also noted all cases in which a patient appealed a decision from the review board to the court. RESULTS Two hundred and thirty-seven patients made 334 applications to the review board. The board overturned the physician's finding of incapacity in only 5 (1.5%) applications; 15 appealed the review board's finding to the courts. None of these appeals were successful. In the absence of an appeal to the courts, the average delay in initiating treatment was 25 days. For patients appealing to the court, the average delay was 253 days. The cost of hospitalizing untreated patients while their capacity was under legal review was estimated at $3,867,000, of which $1,333,000 could have been saved if treatment had started immediately after the review board confirmed incapacity. CONCLUSION We have identified extensive delays in initiating psychiatric treatment for a number of patients. These delays are associated with legal review of treatment capacity. There are serious clinical risks and substantial costs associated with delay in treating patients with acute psychiatric illness. Where jurisdictions review treatment capacity, we recommend that treatment not be impeded once a review board has confirmed a clinical finding of incapacity.