The assessment of decision-making capacity and suicidality are closely related. To properly assess for suicidality, the patient must be clinically sober. This is because many mind altering substances are depressants and the presence of the substance can worsen depression. Some of these patients are not suicidal (and they are clinically sober) once the substance clears.
Assessment of suicidality medical expert witness specialties include emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, emergency nursing, psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and emergency psychiatry.