Event – NY SAFE Act: What Does It Mean for Mental Health Providers and Their Patients?

New York State’s SAFE Act: 

“What Does It Mean for Mental Health Providers and Their Patients?”

Wednesday, May 1, 2013; 5:00pm-8:00 pm 

ALUMNI HALL B, NYU School of Medicine

Sponsored by the NYU Division of Medical Ethics and the Department of Psychiatry
Co-Chairs: Arthur L. Caplan, PhD and Elizabeth Ford, MD

Please RSVP to jessica.oyola@nyumc.org

Click through to see the working agenda.

5:10- 5:30 PM           Evolution of the SAFE Act, Implementation and Reporting Requirements

John Allen, Jr. , Special Assistant to the Commissioner of NY State OMH

5:30- 5:45PM            Overview of issues and challenges presented by the SAFE Act

Elizabeth Ford, M.D. Director, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Bellevue Hospital Center; Training Director, NYU Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship

5:45- 6:30 PM           Panel 1.  Mental Health and Guns

Questions for consideration:

  • What do we really know about the link between gun violence and mental illness?
  • Is gun violence a police or public health issue and why?
  • What constitutes an adequate risk assessment for assessing potential for gun violence?
  • Are mental health professionals the most appropriate ‘managers’ of risk assessment to deter gun violence?
  • How do class and poverty play a role in controlling gun violence—‘stop and frisk’ vs. reporting requirements?

Panel:

Donald B. Smith, Sheriff of Putnam County, NY and past president, NY State Sheriff’s Association

Mark D Schwartz M.D.,  Vice-Chair for Education and Faculty Affairs, Department of Population Health; Director General Internal Medicine Fellowship Program, NYULMC

Merrill Rotter, M.D.,  Director, Division of Law and Psychiatry; Director, Residency in Forensic Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Moderator:  Arthur Caplan PhD

6:30- 7:15 PM           Panel 2.  Potential Impact on the Therapeutic Alliance

Questions for consideration:

  • Are fears that the SAFE Act will discourage new patients or disrupt current care justified?
  • What have we learned about the impact of similar reporting laws (e.g. duty to warn, child abuse) on clinician-patient relationships?
  • How can the provisions of the Act best be incorporated into treatment?
  • How can mental health clinicians work within the provisions of the Act to maintain their ethical and professional principles?

Panel:

Wendy Brennan, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City Metro

Amit Rajparia, M.D., Director, Bellevue Hospital Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program

Other panelists TBA

Moderator:  Elizabeth Ford M.D.

7:15- 8:00 PM           Panel 3. Working with the SAFE Act: Future Implications and Suggestions

Questions for consideration:

  • What is the likelihood that the Act will achieve its stated goal of reducing already low (compared to national average) rates of gun violence in NYS?
  • How can the state best educate its providers about the Act and its implications?
  • What is the impact of this Act on non-clinicians seeking care for loved ones or clients?
  • How should the ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of the act be determined and by who?
  • What changes in NY State mental health system ought be pursued to diminish violence to self and others?

Panel:

Charles Marmar, M.D., Lucius N. Littauer Professor, and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center.

Gary S. Belkin, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. Senior Director of Psychiatric Services, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Office of Behavioral Health Associate Professor, and Director, Program in Global Mental Health, New York University School of Medicine

John Tauriello, General Counsel, NY State OM

Moderator:  Arthur Caplan PhD.

Concluding remarks:  Arthur Caplan PhD.

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff

The Petrie-Flom Center staff often posts updates, announcements, and guests posts on behalf of others.

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