Arizona Laws 36-531. Evaluation; possible dispositions; release
A. A person who is being evaluated on an inpatient basis in an evaluation agency shall be released if, in the opinion of the medical director of the agency, further evaluation is not appropriate unless the person applies for further care and treatment on a voluntary basis.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 36-531
- Administration: means the Arizona health care cost containment system administration. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Court: means the superior court in the county in this state in which the patient resides or was found before screening or emergency admission under this title. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Department: means the department of health services. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Director: means the director of the administration. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Evaluation: means :
(a) A professional multidisciplinary analysis that may include firsthand observations or remote observations by interactive audiovisual media and that is based on data describing the person's identity, biography and medical, psychological and social conditions carried out by a group of persons consisting of at least the following:
(i) Two licensed physicians who are qualified psychiatrists, if possible, or at least experienced in psychiatric matters, who shall examine and report their findings independently. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Evaluation agency: means either of the following:
(a) A health care agency that is licensed by the department and that has been approved pursuant to this title to provide the services required of that agency by this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Grave disability: means a condition evidenced by behavior in which a person, as a result of a mental disorder, is likely to come to serious physical harm or serious illness because the person is unable to provide for the person's own basic physical needs. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Medical director of an evaluation agency: means a psychiatrist, or other licensed physician experienced in psychiatric matters, who is designated in writing by the governing body of the agency as the person in charge of the medical services of the agency for the purposes of this chapter and may include the chief medical officer of the state hospital. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Mental disorder: means a substantial disorder of the person's emotional processes, thought, cognition or memory. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Patient: means any person who is undergoing examination, evaluation or behavioral or mental health treatment under this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Persistent or acute disability: means a severe mental disorder that meets all the following criteria:
(a) Significantly impairs judgment, reason, behavior or capacity to recognize reality. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Prosecuting agency: means the county attorney, attorney general or city attorney who applied or petitioned for an evaluation or treatment pursuant to this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Records: means all communications that are recorded in any form or medium and that relate to patient examination, evaluation or behavioral or mental health treatment. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. If it is determined on an evaluation of the patient‘s condition that the patient is, as a result of a mental disorder, a danger to self or to others or has a persistent or acute disability or a grave disability, the medical director in charge of the agency that provided the evaluation, unless the person applies for further care and treatment on a voluntary basis, shall prepare, sign and file a petition for court-ordered treatment unless the county attorney performs the functions of preparing, signing or filing the petition as provided in subsection C of this section.
C. The agency may contact the county attorney to obtain assistance in preparing the petition for court-ordered treatment, and the agency may request the advice and judgment of the county attorney in reaching a decision as to whether court-ordered treatment is justified.
D. A person being evaluated on an inpatient basis in an evaluation agency shall be released within seventy-two hours, excluding weekends and holidays, from the time that the person is hospitalized pursuant to a court order for evaluation, unless the person applies for further care and treatment on a voluntary basis or unless a petition for court-ordered treatment has been filed pursuant to subsection B of this section.
E. If a prosecutor filed a petition pursuant to section 13-4517, the medical director of an evaluation agency shall provide notice within twenty-four hours to the court and the prosecuting agency of the medical director’s intention to release the person under this section. If the person has been remanded to an evaluation agency pursuant to section 13-4517, the evaluation agency shall detain the person for an additional twenty-four hours to allow for the provision of any required notices. The medical director shall provide the patient’s records, including medical and treatment records, to the court and the prosecuting agency.
F. The administration may conduct jointly with a school district, directly or indirectly, an educational evaluation pursuant to sections 15-765 and 15-766 for nonadjudicated youth. The evaluation information may be shared by and among authorized personnel employed by the administration and the department of education, or authorized personnel from the local education agency, for purposes of ensuring the provision of special education and related services as required by the individuals with disabilities education act (20 United States Code §§ 1400 through 1415).