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Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 37. MENTAL HEALTH · Chapter 3. EXAMINATION, TREATMENT, ETC., FOR MENTAL ILLNESS · Article 3. EXAMINATION, HOSPITALIZATION, AND TREATMENT OF INVOLUNTARY PATIENTS · Part 4. INVOLUNTARY OUTPATIENT CARE

37-3-90. Physician’s or psychologist’s determination and certification as to necessity of involuntary care; treatment of patient as inpatient or outpatient; minors.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  1. (a)

    When a physician or psychologist at a facility or on behalf of a facility determines and certifies under this article that there is reason to believe a patient admitted to or examined at the facility is a mentally ill person requiring involuntary treatment, that physician or psychologist shall further determine and certify whether there is reason to believe the patient is:#

    1. (1)

      An inpatient or outpatient; and#

    2. (2)

      If an outpatient, whether there is available outpatient treatment.#

  2. (b)

    Unless otherwise specifically provided, the determination and certification as to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be made within the time period required for determining whether a patient is a mentally ill person requiring involuntary treatment, except that if such determination is made by a physician or psychologist at or on behalf of a community mental health center, the determination and certification shall be made within four hours after the patient is examined by the physician or psychologist.#

  3. (c)

    A person determined and certified to be:#

    1. (1)

      An outpatient; and#

    2. (2)

      A person for whom there is available outpatient treatment#

    3. shall be considered to be in need of involuntary outpatient treatment and not involuntary inpatient treatment for purposes of further proceedings under this article until such time as that person’s status is determined to be otherwise pursuant to those proceedings.

  4. (d)

    A person determined and certified to be a mentally ill person requiring involuntary treatment who does not meet all of the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c) of this Code section shall be considered to be in need of involuntary inpatient treatment and not involuntary outpatient treatment for purposes of further proceedings under this article until such time as that person’s status is determined to be otherwise pursuant to those proceedings.#

  5. (e)

    Any minor admitted voluntarily shall be released at any time after written request is made by the minor’s parent or legal guardian.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Code 1981, § 37-3-90, enacted by Ga. L. 1986, p. 1098, § 5; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1902, § 8; Ga. L. 1995, p. 612, § 1.

Law reviews

For note on the 1995 amendment of this Code section, see 12 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 258 (1995). For comment, ‘‘1986 Amendments to Georgia’s Mental Health Statutes: The Latest Attempt to Provide a Solution to the Problem of the Chronically Mentally Ill,’’ see 36 Emory L.J. 1313 (1987).

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t37-t39-(v28)-2021-pdf.pdf, Volume V28, 2021 edition, pages 182 to 183; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 4eed692485f5.