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Stephen McGinnis's avatar

Why did he see a NP as opposed to a board-certified psychiatrist? Perhaps to obtain Adderall?

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Jung Skywalker's avatar

I had to mind my biases on this one because, while not a 100% accurate generalization, psych NPs being too casual with stimulants for vague complaints of "can't focus" is almost a meme among psychiatrists.

But having said that, I think this lawsuit was probably an effort to monetize a tragedy. Some sloppy work, but not so sloppy I would say it caused this patient's suicide, and if a patient (an adult patient, no less) only volunteers a history of ADHD and withholds everything else, I'm not sure how an NP would be expected to even know that there is relevant collateral available, much less how to get it. It's easy for me to say from my couch that I would do a more thorough inspection for ADHD or demand prior records verifying the diagnosis, but saying that not doing so led to this patient killing themselves is a stretch.

As it stands, the expert's opinion here just seems to read as a grab-bag of pedantic criticism, rather than presenting an actual theory for what the NP specifically did that led to the patient's suicide.

I'm honestly surprised that psychiatry is one of the least-sued specialties because if providers can be sued for failing to read their patients' minds, I would think nearly every case of suicide could be converted to at least a settlement extraction if the surviving family can find an attorney with a pulse.

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