Psychiatric consultations and ethics consultations - Similarities and differences

Although consultation-liaison psychiatry and clinical ethics both developed largely in response to the problems engendered try the new medical technol ogy and the dilution of the traditional doctor-patient relationship, they r epresent distinct fields that rely on different, but overlapping, domains o f expertise. To be effective, ethics consultants often need to augment thei r own background with psychiatric knowledge and skills. Consultation-liaiso n psychiatrists are well prepared to contribute to clinical Ethics but cann ot serve effectively as ethics consultants without additional education and training. Several case examples are presented to elucidate these points an d to illustrate the similarities and differences between psychiatric consul tations and ethics consultations. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.