An Act Concerning the Examination of Persons in Protective Custody

Sec. 1. 34-B MRSA §3862, sub-§1, ¶B,  as amended by PL 1999, c. 423, §4, is further amended to read:

summary

Current law requires that a law enforcement officer who seeks to have a person involuntarily committed to a mental health hospital on an emergency basis must have that person examined by a licensed physician, a licensed clinical psychologist, a physician's assistant, a nurse practitioner or a certified psychiatric clinical nurse specialist for the purpose of determining whether that person poses a likelihood of serious harm. A related section of law says that this examination may be performed only by a licensed physician or a licensed clinical psychologist if the examination is performed outside a hospital emergency room. This bill allows the examination to be performed by any of the health care professionals authorized to conduct such examinations, whether the examination is performed in a hospital emergency room or elsewhere.