A. The Department shall develop and administer a web-based acute psychiatric bed registry to collect, aggregate, and display information about available acute beds in public and private inpatient psychiatric facilities and public and private residential crisis stabilization units to facilitate the identification and designation of facilities for the temporary detention and treatment of individuals who meet the criteria for temporary detention pursuant to § 37.2-809.

B. The acute psychiatric bed registry created pursuant to subsection A shall:

1. Include descriptive information for every public and private inpatient psychiatric facility and every public and private residential crisis stabilization unit in the Commonwealth, including contact information for the facility or unit;

2. Provide real-time information about the number of beds available at each facility or unit and, for each available bed, the type of patient that may be admitted, the level of security provided, and any other information that may be necessary to allow employees or designees of community services boards and employees of inpatient psychiatric facilities or public and private residential crisis stabilization units to identify appropriate facilities for detention and treatment of individuals who meet the criteria for temporary detention; and

3. Allow employees and designees of community services boards, employees of inpatient psychiatric facilities or public and private residential crisis stabilization units, and health care providers as defined in § 8.01-581.1 working in an emergency room of a hospital or clinic or other facility rendering emergency medical care to perform searches of the registry to identify available beds that are appropriate for the detention and treatment of individuals who meet the criteria for temporary detention.

C. Every state facility, community services board, behavioral health authority, and private inpatient provider licensed by the Department shall participate in the acute psychiatric bed registry established pursuant to subsection A and shall designate such employees as may be necessary to submit information for inclusion in the acute psychiatric bed registry and serve as a point of contact for addressing requests for information related to data reported to the acute psychiatric bed registry.

D. Every state facility, community services board, behavioral health authority, and private inpatient provider licensed by the Department shall update information included in the acute psychiatric bed registry whenever there is a change in bed availability for the facility, board, authority, or provider or, if no change in bed availability has occurred, at least daily.

E. The Commissioner may enter into a contract with a private entity for the development and administration of the acute psychiatric bed registry established pursuant to subsection A.

2014, cc. 691, 774; 2015, cc. 34, 116.