Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1718 is enacted to read:

§1718. Patients' rights

1.__Adoption of rules.__The commissioner shall adopt rules consistent with rules adopted pursuant to Title 34-B, section 3003 for the enhancement and protection of the rights of patients receiving services from any hospital for the treatment of mental illness required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 405.__Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

2.__Requirements.__Rules adopted pursuant to subsection 1 must include, but are not limited to:

A.__Establishment of the right to provision of treatment and related services in the least restrictive appropriate setting;

B.__Establishment of the right to an individualized treatment or service plan developed with the participation of the patient;

C.__Standards for informed consent to treatment, including reasonable standards and procedural mechanisms for determining when to treat a patient absent the patient's informed consent, consistent with applicable law;

D.__Standards for participation in experimentation and research;

E.__Standards pertaining to the use of seclusion and restraint;

F.__Establishment of the right to appropriate privacy and to a humane treatment environment;

G.__Establishment of the right to confidentiality of records and procedures pertaining to a patient's right to access to that patient's mental health care records;

H.__Establishment of the right to receive visitors and to communicate by telephone and mail;

I.__Procedures to ensure that patients are notified of their rights;