Periodic Review of Individualized Service Plan; Procedure Upon End of Need for Involuntary Treatment; Designation of Discharge Decision Maker; Notice of Discharge or Transfer to Voluntary Status

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Mental Health
  4. Examination, Treatment, etc., for Mental Illness
  5. Examination, Hospitalization, and Treatment of Involuntary Patients
  6. Determination of Need for Treatment, Admission to Treatment Facilities
  7. Periodic Review of Individualized Service Plan; Procedure Upon End of Need for Involuntary Treatment; Designation of Discharge Decision Maker; Notice of Discharge or Transfer to Voluntary Status

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  1. Each individualized service plan for a patient receiving involuntary inpatient treatment shall be reviewed at regular intervals to determine the patient's progress toward the stated goals and objectives of the plan and to determine whether the plan should be modified because of the patient's present condition. These reviews should be based upon relevant progress notes in the patient's clinical record and upon other related information; and input from the patient should be obtained and utilized where feasible.
  2. Any time a patient receiving involuntary inpatient treatment is found by the chief medical officer, after consideration of the recommendations of the treatment team, no longer to be a mentally ill person requiring involuntary inpatient treatment, the chief medical officer may:
    1. Discharge the patient from involuntary outpatient or inpatient treatment, or both, subject to the conditions of Code Section 37-3-95;
    2. Discharge the patient from involuntary inpatient treatment and require that the patient obtain available outpatient treatment for the remaining period the patient was to have been required to obtain inpatient treatment, as long as the patient then meets the standards for being discharged to outpatient treatment under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 37-3-81.1 and subject to the conditions of Code Section 37-3-95; or
    3. Transfer the patient to voluntary status at the patient's request, as provided in Code Section 37-3-24.
  3. The chief medical officer may designate in writing another physician, who may be the attending physician, to make these discharge decisions.If the decision of the designee is contrary to the recommendations of the treatment team, the issue must go to the chief medical officer for final determination.Where the treatment team and the designee concur, the decision of the designee will be final.
  4. Notice of the discharge or the transfer of status shall be given to the patient and his representatives; if the patient's hospitalization was authorized by order of a court, to the court which entered such order; and, if the patient was under criminal charges of which the facility received written notification, by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the law enforcement agency originally having custody of the patient.

(Ga. L. 1874, p. 91, § 1; Code 1882, § 1344a; Ga. L. 1884-85, p. 61, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 1416; Civil Code 1910, § 1578; Ga. L. 1931, p. 7, § 41; Code 1933, § 35-206; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 308, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1958, p. 697, § 11; Ga. L. 1960, p. 837, § 11; Code 1933, § 88-511, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, p. 499, § 1; Code 1933, § 88-506.7, enacted by Ga. L. 1969, p. 505, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1293, § 10; Code 1933, § 88-506.6, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1789, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1098, § 4; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1059, § 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3.)

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Determination that a patient met former Code 1933, § 88-506.2 (see O.C.G.A. § 37-3-80) criteria was not an adjudication that the patient was mentally competent at the time of the trial of understanding the nature and object of the proceedings going on against the patient, and rightly comprehends the patient's own condition in reference to such proceedings, and is capable of rendering the patient's attorneys such assistance as a proper defense to the indictment preferred against the patient demands. Rather, one who was previously adjudicated incompetent to stand trial, is entitled to have the issue of present competency determined prior to standing trial. Gibbs v. State, 235 Ga. 480, 220 S.E.2d 254 (1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 924, 96 S. Ct. 1134, 47 L. Ed. 2d 333 (1976).

Presumption of sanity raised by administrative release.

- Assuming that previous commitment as "a mentally ill person and in need of hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital" raised a counter presumption to the rebuttable presumption of "sound mind and discretion," the administrative release from hospitalization cancelled any previously existing presumption of insanity, leaving a presumption of sanity, which was rebuttable. Hodges v. State, 257 Ga. 818, 364 S.E.2d 275 (1988).

Cited in Brackett v. State, 227 Ga. 493, 181 S.E.2d 380 (1971); Gilbert v. State, 235 Ga. 501, 220 S.E.2d 262 (1975); Graham v. State, 236 Ga. 378, 223 S.E.2d 803 (1976).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Necessity and sufficiency of statements informing one under investigation for involuntary commitment of right to remain silent, 23 A.L.R.4th 563.

Right to notice and hearing prior to revocation of conditional release status of mental patient, 29 A.L.R.4th 394.

PART 4 INVOLUNTARY OUTPATIENT CARE

37-3-90. Physician's or psychologist's determination and certification as to necessity of involuntary care; treatment of patient as inpatient or outpatient; minors.

  1. When a physician or psychologist at a facility or on behalf of a facility determines and certifies under this article that there is reason to believe a patient admitted to or examined at the facility is a mentally ill person requiring involuntary treatment, that physician or psychologist shall further determine and certify whether there is reason to believe the patient is:
    1. An inpatient or outpatient; and
    2. If an outpatient, whether there is available outpatient treatment.
  2. Unless otherwise specifically provided, the determination and certification as to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be made within the time period required for determining whether a patient is a mentally ill person requiring involuntary treatment, except that if such determination is made by a physician or psychologist at or on behalf of a community mental health center, the determination and certification shall be made within four hours after the patient is examined by the physician or psychologist.
  3. A person determined and certified to be:
    1. An outpatient; and
    2. A person for whom there is available outpatient treatment

      shall be considered to be in need of involuntary outpatient treatment and not involuntary inpatient treatment for purposes of further proceedings under this article until such time as that person's status is determined to be otherwise pursuant to those proceedings.

  4. A person determined and certified to be a mentally ill person requiring involuntary treatment who does not meet all of the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c) of this Code section shall be considered to be in need of involuntary inpatient treatment and not involuntary outpatient treatment for purposes of further proceedings under this article until such time as that person's status is determined to be otherwise pursuant to those proceedings.
  5. Any minor admitted voluntarily shall be released at any time after written request is made by the minor's parent or legal guardian.

(Code 1981, §37-3-90, enacted by Ga. L. 1986, p. 1098, § 5; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1902, § 8; Ga. L. 1995, p. 612, § 1.)

Law reviews.

- For note on the 1995 amendment of this Code section, see 12 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 258 (1995). For comment, "1986 Amendments to Georgia's Mental Health Statutes: The Latest Attempt to Provide a Solution to the Problem of the Chronically Mentally Ill," see 36 Emory L.J. 1313 (1987).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Cited in Bruscato v. Gwinnett-Rockdale-Newton Cmty. Serv. Bd., 290 Ga. App. 638, 660 S.E.2d 440 (2008).


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