Compulsory outpatient treatment: a revision from bioethics

Abstract

Freedom is a fundamental right of individuals and also is the freedom to decide on the type of treatment we choose for one disease. This freed is enshrined in various laws through the principle of informed consent. But in the field of psychiatry we can find patients who have decreased temporarily or permanently their capacity to decide about their treatment. Many of these people could be finally admitted to hospital involuntarily. Many countries have legislation that allows compulsory outpatient treatment in cases that defines the law and safeguarding the rights of patients. In Spain the legal situation of involuntary outpatient treatment is unresolved. This article will examine the current legal situation in Spain, the different types of compulsory outpatient treatment, the arguments for and against them and will defend the need to regulate this kind of treatment.