Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:51.1 – Treatment facility; staff membership and institutional privileges; certain healthcare providers
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:51.1
- Medical psychologist: means a psychologist who has undergone specialized training in clinical psychopharmacology and has passed a national proficiency examination in psychopharmacology approved by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and who holds a current and valid license from the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Patient: means any person detained and taken care of as a person who has a mental illness or person who is suffering from a substance-related or addictive disorder. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Physician: means an individual licensed to practice medicine by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners in active practice or an individual in a post-graduate medical training program of an accredited medical school in Louisiana or a medical officer similarly qualified by the government of the United States while in the state in the performance of his official duties. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner: means an advanced practice registered nurse licensed to practice as a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, in accordance with the provisions of Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Psychiatrist: means a physician who has at least three years of formal training or primary experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Psychologist: means an individual licensed to practice psychology in Louisiana in accordance with Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Restraint: means the partial or total immobilization of any or all of the extremities or the torso by mechanical means for psychiatric indications. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Seclusion: means the involuntary confinement of a patient alone in a room where the patient is physically prevented from leaving for any period of time, except that seclusion does not include the placement of a patient alone in a room or other area for no more than thirty minutes at a time and no more than three hours in any twenty-four-hour period pursuant to behavior-shaping techniques, such as "time-out". See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Treatment: means an active effort to accomplish an improvement in the mental condition or behavior of a patient or to prevent deterioration in his condition or behavior. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Treatment facility: includes but is not limited to the following, and shall be selected with consideration of first, medical suitability; second, least restriction of the person's liberty; third, nearness to the patient's usual residence; fourth, financial or other status of the patient; and fifth, patient's expressed preference, except that such considerations shall not apply to forensic facilities:
(i) Public and private behavioral health services providers licensed pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
A.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary, the governing body of a treatment facility, as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 28:2, may grant staff membership, specifically delineated institutional privileges, or both, to any duly licensed, certified, or registered healthcare provider in accordance with the needs and bylaws of the treatment facility, including but not limited to a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, medical psychologist, or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 28:2.
(2) Staff membership, specifically delineated institutional privileges, or both, granted to a medical psychologist shall be conditioned upon all of the following requirements:
(a) The applicant medical psychologist shall have a valid, current, unrestricted license issued to him by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.
(b) The applicant medical psychologist shall prescribe medications in the treatment facility only in consultation, collaboration and concurrence with the patient‘s primary or attending physician or psychiatrist and only in accordance with the treatment facility’s staff membership or privilege granting process and restrictions, if any.
(c) The patient’s primary or attending physician or psychiatrist shall have staff membership, institutional privileges, or both, at the treatment facility.
(3) Staff membership, specifically delineated institutional privileges, which may include the ability to prepare and execute orders for the admission of patients to a treatment facility, or both, granted to a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner shall be conditioned upon all of the following requirements:
(a) The applicant psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner shall have a valid, current, collaborative practice agreement, as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 37:913(9), with a psychiatrist.
(b) The applicant psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner shall have a valid, current, and unrestricted advanced practice registered nurse license, as a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist, issued by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, and have been granted limited prescriptive authority pursuant to LAC 46:XLVII.4513.
(c) The applicant psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner’s collaborating physician shall have staff membership, institutional privileges, or both, at the treatment facility.
(d) The applicant psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner shall prescribe medications or the use of seclusion or restraint on patients in the treatment facility only in accordance with the collaborative practice agreement and in accordance with the treatment facility’s staff membership or privilege-granting process and restrictions, if any.
B. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require the governing body of a treatment facility to grant staff membership, specifically delineated institutional privileges, or both, to any applicant health care provider, provided that each such applicant is considered on an individual basis regarding his qualifications.
C. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit the governing body of a treatment facility from granting or denying staff membership, specifically delineated institutional privileges, or both, on the basis of individual character, competence, experience and judgment of the applicant health care provider seeking staff membership, or specifically delineated institutional privileges, or both, from requiring the character recommendation of not more than three members of the staff for which membership is sought as a prerequisite to consideration for staff membership or specifically delineated clinical privileges.
D. “Governing body” for purposes of this Section, means the group or the individual ultimately responsible for a treatment facility’s general policies with respect to staff membership and professional clinical privileges and shall include but not be limited to a board of trustees, a board of directors, a board of governors, a board of managers, a medical board, a medical director or any other official of the treatment facility with comparable responsibilities.
Acts 2006, No. 664, §1; Acts 2009, No. 251, §7, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2017, No. 369, §2; Acts 2021, No. 238, §2; Acts 2021, No. 373, §1; Acts 2022, No. 271, §1.