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To illustrate the dilemma in evaluating and treating patients who deny their illness, the authors present the case of a woman with paranoia who denied she was ill and refused medication. They focus specifically on the issue of whether a patient who denies his or her illness is truly legally competent to refuse or consent to treatment. They conclude that the assessment of such competency requires a consideration of the accuracy of the patient's "appreciation of the nature of his or her situation" and that safeguards have to be built into a system for evaluating competency along these lines to prevent abuse.
Roth et al. (Thu,) studied this question.