---
title: O.C.G.A. § 31-7-161. Appointment to staff of medical facility or institution.
collection: code
id: 31-7-161
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 31-7-161 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-7-161
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-7-161.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-7-161/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t31-(v23)-2025-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=da7ded69_0#page=434
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-7.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-7-160.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-7-162.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia
heading_path: HEALTH / REGULATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES / HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDER PSYCHOLOGISTS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 31-7-161. Appointment to staff of medical facility or institution.

(a) A medical facility or institution may provide for the appointment of health service provider psychologists on such terms and conditions as the medical facility or institution shall establish. Psychologists shall be eligible to hold membership and serve on committees of the medical or professional staff and may possess clinical privileges and carry professional responsibilities consistent with the scope of their licensure and their competence, subject to the reasonable rules of the medical facility or institution. Such privileges and responsibilities may include issuing a psychologist’s order. A physician shall be designated to be responsible for the medical aspects of care for a patient admitted by a psychologist.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law:

(1) A health service provider psychologist is authorized to issue a psychologist’s order to a registered professional nurse or a licensed practical nurse; and

(2) A registered professional nurse and a licensed practical nurse shall have the authority to execute a psychologist’s order, provided that a registered professional nurse or licensed practical nurse may confer with the health service provider psychologist prior to executing the psychologist’s order. Nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to alter the standard of care of the registered professional nurse or the licensed practical nurse applicable to the evaluation and execution of orders, including a psychologist’s order.

## History

Code 1981, § 31-7-161, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1426, § 2; Ga. L. 1997, p. 911, § 3.

## Code Commission Notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1997, “psychologist’s” was substituted for “psychologists’s” in the second sentence of paragraph (b)(2).