Am J Psychiatry 1985; 142:1043-1046
Copyright © 1985 by American Psychiatric Association
Ethics in the practice of psychiatry: update on the results of enforcement of the code
RA Moore
From 1950 to 1973, 82 charges of unethical conduct were made against APA
members; of the 12 (15%) members who were found unethical, six were
expelled. From 1972 to 1983, 382 members were charged; 86 (23%) were found
unethical and 27 of them were expelled. The charges most often involved
patient exploitation and illegal conduct. The proportion of the membership
charged in each APA area varied by as much as 3:1; some district branches
had many charges (69 was the most), and many had none. With all the
limitations, the system of enforcement is valuable, but there is much room
for improvement.
