The symposium – co-chaired by Dr. Richard F. Camino-Gaztambide, M.D., clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Mercer, and Julia H. Magda, J.D., partner at Sell & Melton LLP – aims to address a need in the mental health community for knowledge regarding the laws for involuntary patient treatment and commitment.

“One of the difficulties encountered in addressing mental health disorders, in particular those with acute symptoms, is the patient refusal of treatment and interventions that could provide improvement in patients’ functioning,” said Dr. Camino-Gaztambide. “This drives us to address two basic questions: What happens when a patient’s ability to consent is compromised by their illness? And what parameters could justify involuntary treatment and commitment, while protecting human and civil rights?”

Objectives of the symposium include providing participants with current knowledge of legal aspects in the areas of informed consent, involuntary commitment and involuntary treatment; providing participants with current theories regarding human behavior, psychopathology and its relationship to decision-making; familiarizing participants with areas of controversy and concern of involuntary treatment and commitment from the legal, ethical and mental health sciences perspectives; providing practice guidelines for legal and mental health professionals on commitment and involuntary treatment cases; and providing recommendations for future research and inquiry on the legal, ethical and mental health aspects of commitment and involuntary treatment.

Breakfast will be served from 8-8:30 a.m., to be followed by a series of presentations.

Dr. Angela Hale, M.D., associate professor at Mercer and medical director for the Pavilion of The Medical Center of Central Georgia, will present “Psychiatric and Medical Aspects of Informed Consent.”

Dr. Camino-Gaztambide, who also serves as psychiatric clerkship director at Mercer, will present “Neurobiology of Cognition and Will and Its Relation to Psychopathology.”

Magda will present “Legal Aspects of Informed Consent.”

Dr. Walker G. Carter, M.D., interim chair and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and associate dean of academic affairs at Mercer, will present “Psychiatric Criteria to Consider Involuntary Commitment and Involuntary Treatment.”

The Hon. Sarah S. Harris, Bibb County probate judge, will present “Legal and Judicial Criteria to Adjudicate Involuntary Treatment.”

Dr. Richard Elliott, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medical ethics and community medicine at Mercer, will present “Ethical and Moral Aspects of Involuntary Commitment and Involuntary Treatment.”

Isaac (Zack) Buck, J.D., MBE, assistant professor of law at Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law, and Gina Greenwood, J.D., health care regulatory attorney and counsel at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC, will present “Civil Rights of Mental Health Patients under EMTALA and HIPAA.”

The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

To register, contact Novetta Reid at [email protected].