Legislative Elimination of Harmful Psychiatric Practices
FLORIDA
There is a law on the books in Florida that if enforced would end harmful psychiatric practices there. It makes illegal all unscientific, fraudulent and unproven healthcare treatments. [Florida Statutes 456.072 (1)(a)]
“456.072?Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement.—
(1)?The following acts shall constitute grounds for which the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be taken:
(a)?Making misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent representations in or related to the practice of the licensee’s profession.”
However, there is a second law on the Florida books which states that if the practitioner uses treatments “generally accepted” by his peers then it is OK. This opens the door to the practitioner having to use the treatments his peers “generally accept” or be subject to administrative discipline and malpractice laws. [Florida Statutes 766.102 (1)]
“766.102?Medical negligence; standards of recovery; expert witness.—
(1)?In any action for recovery of damages based on the death or personal injury of any person in which it is alleged that such death or injury resulted from the negligence of a health care provider as defined in s. 766.202(4), the claimant shall have the burden of proving by the greater weight of evidence that the alleged actions of the health care provider represented a breach of the prevailing professional standard of care for that health care provider. The prevailing professional standard of care for a given health care provider shall be that level of care, skill, and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar health care providers.”
To confuse matters even more, there is a third law on the Florida books that makes it illegal for a doctor to prescribe controlled substances like narcotics and psychiatric drugs for pain without a full and complete physical exam, full history obtained and imaging like MRI, CAT Scans, drug tests, etc. And then only after other less or non harmful therapies have been attempted can powerful narcotics and powerful tranquilizers be prescribed on an ongoing basis for physical pain. [Florida Statutes 458.331(1)(t)1]
“458.331?Grounds for disciplinary action; action by the board and department.—
(1)?The following acts constitute grounds for denial of a license or disciplinary action … (t)?Notwithstanding s. 456.072(2) but as specified in s. 456.50(2):
1.?Committing medical malpractice as defined in s. 456.50. The board shall give great weight to the provisions of s. 766.102 when enforcing this paragraph.”
This third law was used to bust countless pill-mill doctors. They had their licenses suspended, revoked, and were charged and convicted in criminal courts.
But the psychs are “exempt” from this law. Why? Because psychiatric “treatments” such as psychiatric drugs are the prevailing standard of care.
MISSOURI
In Missouri, these are some Statutes regarding standard of care and related topics:
[197.080.1 2.(3)(b) Department of Health and Senior Services] “A departmental investigation of a complaint shall be focused on the specific regulatory standard and departmental written interpretive guidance and publicly available professionally recognized standard of care related to the complaint.”
[538.225. 1 Tort Actions Based on Improper Health Care] “In any action against a health care provider for damages for personal injury or death on account of the rendering of or failure to render health care services, the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney shall file an affidavit with the court stating that he or she has obtained the written opinion of a legally qualified health care provider which states that the defendant health care provider failed to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful health care provider would have under similar circumstances and that such failure to use such reasonable care directly caused or directly contributed to cause the damages claimed in the petition.”
[334.100.2 Physicians and Surgeons–Therapists–Athletic Trainers–Health Care Providers] “The board may cause a complaint to be filed with the administrative hearing commission … against any holder of any certificate of registration or authority, permit or license required by this chapter … for any one or any combination of the following causes: … (4) Misconduct, fraud, misrepresentation, dishonesty, unethical conduct or unprofessional conduct in the performance of the functions or duties of any profession licensed or regulated by this chapter, including, but not limited to, the following: … (5) Any conduct or practice which is or might be harmful or dangerous to the mental or physical health of a patient … .”
CONCLUSIONS
Overall it seems that the pattern of these laws, while intending to protect citizens from physician malpractice, are not really effective in the case of harmful psychiatric practices, for these reasons:
1. The laws are subject to interpretation by lawyers and courts as to what is harmful;
2. The psychiatric industry itself controls its standard of care(using its own Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM] as its reference);
3. There is a built-in legal contradiction between the standard of care and medical malpractice — while one law defines malpractice, another law negates it with standard of care.
We see the solution as having to directly legislate against abusive, fraudulent and harmful psychiatric practices.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Concerned citizens and groups should relentlessly advocate legal and policy protections that force psychiatry to honor every individual’s right to be treated with humanity and respect and to recognize the inherent dignity of the person. These include protections from economic, sexual and other forms of exploitation.
2. Legal protections should be put in place to ensure that psychiatrists and psychologists are prohibited from violating the right of any person to exercise all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in other relevant instruments, such as the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.
3. No person should ever be forced to undergo electric shock treatment, psychosurgery, coercive psychiatric treatment, or the enforced administration of mind-altering drugs. Parents cannot be forced or manipulated into permitting the drugging of their children by psychiatrists, other practitioners or school personnel. Governments should outlaw such abuses.
4. The responsible officials of regulatory agencies or their advisers must be held accountable and criminally charged for harm caused by psychiatric drugs and other psychiatric “treatment” if it is established that they knew, or should have known, of such harm either through clinical trial results, adverse reaction reports or broadly available public information.
5. Every individual who has been subject to such abuse should be helped to file a complaint to police and professional licensing bodies and have this abuse investigated and prosecuted. The individual should be helped also to obtain competent legal advice about filing a civil suit for damages against any offending psychiatrist and his or her hospital, associations and teaching institutions.
6. The United Nations, NGOs, human rights groups and concerned citizens should work together to create a new international human rights covenant that states sign and ratify to protect the right of all individuals from mind control and psychiatric abuse.