Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:510-512
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
Ostensible agency: another malpractice hazard
GJ Firman
Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine.
Under the tort doctrine of ostensible (apparent) agency, a psychiatrist was
named as a codefendant in a psychiatric malpractice suit against a
nonmedical psychotherapist employed in his medical group, who had treated
the plaintiff in her private practice in the same offices. The psychiatrist
was later dismissed as a defendant, but to avoid being sued in such a case,
a psychiatrist contemplating an association with another professional
should 1) check the professional's record with the appropriate licensing
agency, 2) require proof of licensure and malpractice insurance, 3) require
that the professional's private patients sign disclosure statements, and 4)
assure that names on written materials are kept separate.
