Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:94 – Transfer of patients between psychiatric hospitals
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:94
- administrator: means a person in charge of a treatment facility or his deputy. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Department: means the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Legal guardian: means a person judicially or statutorily designated with the duty and authority to make decisions in matters having a permanent effect on the life and development of the individual on whose behalf the guardianship is established. 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
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- 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
- Transfer: means the removal of a patient from one mental institution to another without any procedure for admission other than is prescribed by the department. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
A.(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, the department may transfer any patient from one psychiatric hospital to another if applicable eligibility criteria are met. Moreover, the administrator of a psychiatric hospital may request the department to transfer a patient when he believes that a transfer is necessary.
(2) A patient may be transferred to or from a private psychiatric hospital only upon the joint application of the director or administrator of that hospital and of the legal guardian or the person liable for the support of the patient. However, no private psychiatric hospital shall be obligated to retain a patient because of the refusal to sign the application by the legal guardian or the person liable for support.
(3) A person under sentence or acquitted of a crime on the ground of mental illness or disability shall be transferred only upon authority of the committing court.
(4) A voluntary patient shall be transferred only with his written consent.
B. The following documents, as applicable, shall accompany a patient upon his transfer:
(1) The transfer order of the department.
(2) Certified copies of the application for admission, the physician‘s certificate, the report of the commission, and the order of the committing court.
(3) All of the patient’s clinical records or a full abstract thereof, including the results of medical, physical, and laboratory examinations.
Amended by Acts 1974, No. 294, §1; Acts 1978, No. 786, §3, eff. July 17, 1978; Acts 2017, No. 369, §2.