Objective:
There is a high prevalence of child and adolescent behavioral health needs that present in primary care, and these issues are commonly addressed using psychotropic medications. Although several collaborative and integrated psychotropic medication models have been proposed, there has been limited discussion of the complex ethical considerations related to these roles.
Methods:
This article examines ethical considerations that may occur related to medication-related roles for pediatric primary care psychologists, such as those described by Shahidullah, Hostutler, and Stancin (2018) in a recent volume of Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology.
Results:
This article delineates the use of decision-making models that may be helpful in adhering to best practice clinical and ethical guidelines within the interprofessional context of integrated primary care.
Conclusions:
Ethical principles, standards, guidelines, models, and competencies developed for psychologists and physicians, as well as those developed for interprofessional practice, are used in discussing case illustrations involving psychotropic medication management within integrated practices.
Implications for Impact Statement
Pediatric primary care psychologists undertaking collaborative medication-related roles with physicians are increasingly viewed as a necessary role to improve the standard of care to children and adolescents. Key ethical considerations include scope of practice and problem solving around treatment planning and implementation in conjunction with the physician, family, and patient. This article provides practitioners with a review of important ethical considerations, decision-making models, and clinical tools to facilitate adherence to best practice clinical and ethical guidelines within the interprofessional context of integrated primary care.
