Are our policies and laws leading to treatment delays for people with schizophrenia?

An Obligatory Dangerousness Criterion is now widely used in Australia, the USA, and some areas of Canada and Europe as the means by which patients are assessed for the appropriateness of involuntary (compulsory) treatment.  Under Australian mental health laws, people with schizophrenia can only be involuntarily committed to a mental health facility if they are assessed and it is determined that their illness is making them dangerous to themselves or others.

The Deeble Institute for Health Policy Research and Schizophrenia Research Institute have published a review  of the evidence around involuntary treatment orders. You can read the review here.