New York Times Front Page Article About Depression and Suicide in the Military Goes too Far by Publishing Confidential Mental Health Records

New York Times Front Page Article About Depression and Suicide in the Military Goes too Far by Publishing Confidential Mental Health Records

After Combat, Victims of an Inner War by Erica Goode was an outstanding front page description of depression and suicide in the military in the NY Times on Sunday August 2, 2009. It focused on the background and circumstances of the suicide of Sgt. Jacob Blaylock who was one of four soldiers of a 175 person military unit who ended their own lives. It used his case history to humanize the complicated issues involved in screening for mental health problems and providing treatment for military personnel who need it. Ms Goode gathered information from many sources including friends, families, fellow soldiers, and records of military service as well as treatment records in the veterans health system. However, I question whether this article, as written, should have been published as it has obviously included publication of confidential mental health records.

The article states that veterans agency records obtained by the New York Times reported that Sergeant Blaylock was hospitalized for depression during a previous tour of duty. It quotes from mental health records from a veterans affairs medical center that he had told an intake counselor that he was experiencing ” sleep problems”, “excessive worry and anxiety,” “recurrent thoughts of death ” and other symptoms. It states that he answered” yes” to all four screening questions for post-traumatic stress disorder” and goes on to describe the content of what appears to have been a therapy session. There are other examples in the article of how the patient responded to being evaluated for suicidal ideation as well as a description of the psychotropic medications which were prescribed for him. Ironically, this is followed by a statement from a spokeswoman for the veterans agency noting that it could not legally comment on specific cases without family authorizations which would seem to indicate that the surviving family did not provide the medical records which they may have obtained. Even if they had, this would be a questionable journalistic approach.

The New York Times owes the mental health community and the public at large an explanation as to the ethical standards that it uses

The delineation of the difficulty in predicting suicidal behavior, the need for more research and continued development of screening and treatment programs can be a worthy outcome of the publication of this article. On the other hand the exposing of confidential medical records may very well make potential patients of the military and veterans system hesitate to seek care as the word gets out that their records can end up in the hands of the press. I believe that the New York Times owes the mental health community and the public at large an explanation as to the ethical standards that it uses in situations such as this one.

I sent my above comments to the NY Times as a letter to the editor and as an inquiry to the public editor who solicits concerns about the paper’s journalistic integrity. As of this date I have not received any acknowledgment or reply.

This blog however gives me the opportunity to raise this issue with my colleagues in the mental health profession and all interested parties. Even in the pursuit of a worthwhile goal of improving mental health services and preventing future suicides, was it necessary to obtain confidential medical records of this nature and display it on the front page of one of the leading newspaper in the country? Could not the same effect have been achieved by printing the interviews with the various parties and conveying the dramatic and sad story without resorting to this last step? If there are no journalistic standards or ethics in this regard, does this mean that any medical records that a reporter can get his or her hands on are fair game for publication if the reporter and the editor feel the story is worthwhile? Or is up to their judgment as to what part of the record can be published? If this becomes the standard of our leading newspapers, I hope that this will not erode the confidence and trust that is necessary for psychiatric patients to have in the professionals who care for them and in the hospitals where it sometimes becomes necessary for them to be admitted.

I welcome your comments on this subject.