Sec. 573.022. EMERGENCY ADMISSION AND DETENTION. (a) A person may be admitted to a facility for emergency detention only if the physician who conducted the preliminary examination of the person makes a written statement that:

(1) is acceptable to the facility;

(2) states that after a preliminary examination it is the physician's opinion that:

(A) the person is a person with mental illness;

(B) the person evidences a substantial risk of serious harm to the person or to others;

(C) the described risk of harm is imminent unless the person is immediately restrained; and

(D) emergency detention is the least restrictive means by which the necessary restraint may be accomplished; and

(3) includes:

(A) a description of the nature of the person's mental illness;

(B) a specific description of the risk of harm the person evidences that may be demonstrated either by the person's behavior or by evidence of severe emotional distress and deterioration in the person's mental condition to the extent that the person cannot remain at liberty; and

(C) the specific detailed information from which the physician formed the opinion in Subdivision (2).

(b) A mental health facility that has admitted a person for emergency detention under this section may transport the person to a mental health facility deemed suitable by the local mental health authority for the area. On the request of the local mental health authority, the judge may order that the proposed patient be detained in a department mental health facility.

(c) A facility that has admitted a person for emergency detention under Subsection (a) or to which a person has been transported under Subsection (b) may transfer the person to an appropriate mental hospital with the written consent of the hospital administrator.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 842, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 367, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 510 (H.B. 1829), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.1368, eff. April 2, 2015.