Compulsory treatment and patient responsibility.

OBJECTIVE: Current legislative provisions for compulsory treatment of people with mental illness allow decisions to treat people under compulsion to be made on the basis of presence of a mental illness or mental disorder without consideration of whether the patient has the capacity to make decisions that are in his/her best interest. Issues of autonomy, equity, justice and beneficence in relation to treatment of people with mental illness are explored to determine decision-making rules that should be applied for compulsory mental health treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: It is proposed that assessment of the capacity of the individual to make decisions in his/her best interest, rather than presence of diagnosable mental illness, should be the key consideration for compulsory mental health treatment.