Abstract
The high cost of external controls of the practice of psychiatry in time, money, and quality of patient care is examined. The author argues that in the end, the most reliable and useful source of accountability in the practice of psychiatry is the practitioner's conscience and sense of professional responsibility. Sigmund Freud believed that the scientist's dedication to truth was the ultimate safeguard as well as the source of inspiration. Clinical examples illustrating ethical, moral and legal problems encountered in psychiatric practice are offered, with particular attention to the issues involved when there is a potential for the patient to commit suicide or homicide.
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