Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs): A Tool for Improving Crisis Care and Legal Issues for Implementation-View Presentation

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Video Summary

The webinar, led by Jose Villar, focused on Psychiatric Advanced Directives (PADs) as a tool to improve crisis care and address legal issues in their implementation. Psychiatric Advanced Directives are legal documents enabling individuals with mental illness to outline their treatment preferences and appoint a healthcare power of attorney, ensuring their healthcare decisions are respected during periods when they are incapacitated. While only 4-5% of those with serious mental illness have completed PADs, a majority express the desire to complete them if assistance is available, indicating a latent demand.<br /><br />The practical significance of PADs was highlighted, particularly their ability to facilitate communication between healthcare providers and families during a mental health crisis, support patient autonomy, and potentially reduce involuntary commitments. Legal origins trace back to cases such as Cruzan v. Director (1990), and further established through acts like the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991, mandating hospitals to respect these directives, a compliance critical to receiving federal funding. Despite their benefits, PADs face challenges like varied legal requirements across states, the complex completion process, and a lack of widespread advocacy. Recent developments like a PAD completion app offer new avenues to increase accessibility.

Keywords

Psychiatric Advanced Directives

crisis care

legal issues

mental illness

healthcare power of attorney

patient autonomy

involuntary commitments

Patient Self-Determination Act

PAD completion app