Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

longer be covered by Insurance Companies. But in June 2011 the government decided thatpatients with mental disorders should contribute even more for their access to services. Hugeprotests with a rally gathering up to 10,000 people followed… but only from within the sector.No politicians or intellectuals, only Medical Associations protested against this state of affairs.Unfortunately this demonstrates that stigmatization of people with mental illnesses is stillprominent in the Netherlands, and the Government enhanced this stigmatization by imposingsuch a unilateral measure – without any opposition in the general population. Luckily all medicalassociations tuned in to give their support, as did all the National Psychiatric Associationsthroughout Europe!Market Oriented Mental Health Care: Ethical DilemmasJack Dekker, VU University (jack.dekker@arkin.nl)The concept of market driven mental health care for patients with serious mental disorder hasimplications that are questionable from an ethical point of view. Market driven ethical treatmentguidelines can suggest cessation of treatment for patients after two ‘no shows’; however, patientswith serious mental disorder often need outreach treatment that continues despite long periods ofno show or lack of compliance or commitment to treatment. In this presentation, the practicalimplications of this new development will be discussed and alternatives will be proposed.Ethical Implications of the New Mental Health Legislation in the NetherlandsRemmers van Veldhuizen, Centre for Certification ACT & FACT, Groningen, Netherlands(remmersvv@hotmail.com)In 2013 the Dutch Parliament will discuss a new proposal for an “Involuntary Mental HealthCare Act”. This is an ambitious effort to manage the problem of involuntary care and treatmentin a way that is acceptable for all parties involved. The innovations in this Act intend to: givemore voice to patients and to families; facilitate stepped care & treatment and support; safeguardlegal positions and security; create a more community based MHC system and a morecomprehensible MH ACT. The aim is less involuntary care and – if needed – more acceptableinvoluntary care. This is a large difference from the former MH Act, which was focusedprimarily to involuntary admission. In this symposium some ethical aspects of this legislativeinnovation will be discussed. Important topics include respecting and restoring patients’autonomy (outpatient commitment), the facilitation of “self binding” and the concept ofreciprocity.148