Sec. 574.081. CONTINUING CARE PLAN BEFORE FURLOUGH OR DISCHARGE. (a) The physician responsible for the patient's treatment shall prepare a continuing care plan for a patient who is scheduled to be furloughed or discharged unless the patient does not require continuing care.

(a-1) Subject to available resources, Subsections (a), (b), (c), (c-1), and (c-2) apply to a patient scheduled to be furloughed or discharged from:

(1) a state hospital; or

(2) any psychiatric inpatient bed funded under a contract with the Health and Human Services Commission or operated by or funded under a contract with a local mental health authority or a behavioral mental health authority.

(b) The physician shall prepare the plan as prescribed by Health and Human Services Commission rules and shall consult the patient and the local mental health authority in the area in which the patient will reside before preparing the plan. The local mental health authority shall be informed of and must participate in planning the discharge of a patient.

(c) The plan must address the patient's mental health and physical needs, including, if appropriate:

(1) the need for outpatient mental health services following furlough or discharge; and

(2) the need for sufficient psychoactive medication on furlough or discharge to last until the patient can see a physician.

(c-1) Except as otherwise specified in the plan and subject to available funding provided to the Health and Human Services Commission and paid to a private mental health facility for this purpose, a private mental health facility is responsible for providing or paying for psychoactive medication and any other medication prescribed to the patient to counteract adverse side effects of psychoactive medication on furlough or discharge sufficient to last until the patient can see a physician.

(c-2) The Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt rules to determine the quantity and manner of providing psychoactive medication, as required by this section. The executive commissioner may not adopt rules requiring a mental health facility to provide or pay for psychoactive medication for more than seven days after furlough or discharge.

(d) The physician shall deliver the plan and other appropriate information to the community center or other provider that will deliver the services if:

(1) the services are provided by:

(A) a community center or other provider that serves the county in which the patient will reside and that has been designated by the commissioner to perform continuing care services; or

(B) any other provider that agrees to accept the referral; and

(2) the provision of care by the center or provider is appropriate.

(e) The facility administrator or the administrator's designee shall have the right of access to discharged patients and records of patients who request continuing care services.

(f) A patient who is to be discharged may refuse the continuing care services.

(g) A physician who believes that a patient does not require continuing care and who does not prepare a continuing care plan under this section shall document in the patient's treatment record the reasons for that belief.

(h) Subsection (c) does not create a mandate that a facility described by Section 571.003(9)(B) or (E) provide or pay for a medication for a patient.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 12, eff. Aug. 30, 1993; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 705, Sec. 4.04, 4.05, eff. Aug. 30, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 17.01(33), eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 367, Sec. 14, eff. June 15, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1066, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 582 (S.B. 362), Sec. 21, eff. September 1, 2019.