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Informed Consent for Case Reports

The Ethical Dilemma of Right to Privacy Versus Pedagogical Freedom

Received November 2, 2000; revised January 15, 2001; accepted January 24, 2001. From the Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Address correspondence to Dr. Levine, 23230 Chagrin Boulevard, Suite 350, Beachwood, OH 44122.

A new international standard of editorial policy calls for written informed consent by the subject of every case report. Although this appears to be ethically appealing, the authors posit that in some situations, requesting informed consent may be unethical, can harm patients, and may erode the use of case reports as a valuable teaching method in psychiatry and psychotherapy. The authors discuss concerns regarding this new policy for mental health publication based on issues of transference, countertransference, best interest of the patient, and practicality.

Key Words: Ethics • Informed Consent • Case Reports