(a) If a person who is not a licensed physician executes the first certificate of need in support of hospitalization under this part, then only a licensed physician may execute the second certificate of need in support of hospitalization under this part.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-6-426

  • Chief officer: means the person with overall authority for a public or private hospital or treatment resource, or the person's designee. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Department: means the department of mental health and substance abuse services. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • 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.
  • Hospital: means a public or private hospital or facility or part of a hospital or facility equipped to provide inpatient care and treatment for persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Licensed physician: means a graduate of an accredited medical school authorized to confer upon graduates the degree of doctor of medicine (M. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Support: means any activity or resource that enables a service recipient to participate in a service for mental illness or serious emotional disturbance or in community life. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Treatment resource: means any public or private facility, service, or program providing treatment or rehabilitation services for mental illness or serious emotional disturbance, including, but not limited to, detoxification centers, hospitals, community mental health centers, clinics or programs, halfway houses, and rehabilitation centers. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
(b) If a person who is a licensed physician and board certified as a psychiatrist by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology executes the first certificate of need in support of hospitalization under this part, then the patient may be subject to admission under § 33-6-403 without the execution of a second certificate of need in support of hospitalization under this part.
(c) A certificate of need in support of hospitalization pursuant to subsection (b) is not valid if:

(1) It is made by a professional who is a relative by blood, marriage, or adoption, or the legal guardian, conservator, or legal custodian of the person who is the subject of the petition, application, or certificate;
(2) It is made by a professional who has an ownership interest in a private facility in which the person is to be admitted; or
(3) It is made by a professional who is employed by or contracts with the admitting hospital or treatment resource.
(d) A certificate of need in support of hospitalization executed pursuant to subsection (b) does not relieve the hospital or treatment resource’s chief officer from filing with the court, by the time of the probable cause hearing, the required certificates of need under § 33-6-421 and § 33-6-422.
(e) The admitting hospital or treatment resource may rescind the certificate of need executed pursuant to subsection (b), if a licensed physician or other qualified professional in examining the patient determines that the patient no longer meets admission criteria under § 33-6-403.
(f) Subsection (b) does not apply to a state-owned or -operated hospital or treatment resource or a hospital or treatment resource that contracts with the department of mental health and substance abuse services for in-patient psychiatric services.
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