37.106.1851    SPECIALTY MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY: ADMISSION PROCEDURES

(1)  A specialty mental health facility must develop, maintain, and implement admission procedures designed to ensure that no client is admitted prior to the facility's documented determination of its ability to meet the needs of the client based on a documented appraisal of the client's individual service needs.  

(2)  The facility must assign a psychiatrist licensed in Montana to admit all patients according to a defined set of admission criteria based upon the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III-R (DSM III-R) of the American Psychiatric Association and may admit only those patients whose mental health conditions are associated with addictions related to eating disorders (codes 307.10, 307.50, 307.51, 307.52, and 307.53 in the DSM III-R), pathological gambling (code 312.31 in the DSM III-R), or sexual disorders (codes 302.20, 302.30, 302.40, 302.71, 302.72, 302.79, 302.81, 302.82, 302.83, 302.84, 302.89, and 302.90 in the DSM III-R).

(3)  Whenever a patient is admitted to the facility by a physician other than a psychiatrist, the facility must assure that the physician consults with the facility psychiatrist, by phone or otherwise, within 12 hours after admission, that a written notation of that consultation and the psychiatrist approval of the admission for a mental health condition or suspected mental health condition is made and kept in the patient's records, and that a psychiatric evaluation is conducted in accordance with the standards in (4) below prior to admission.

(4)  Each patient must receive a psychiatric evaluation that must be completed by a psychiatrist licensed in Montana prior to admission unless (5) below applies; include a medical history; contain a record of mental status; note the onset of illness and the circumstances leading to admission; describe attitudes and behavior; estimate intellectual functioning, and orientation; and include an inventory of the patient's assets in descriptive rather than interpretive fashion.

(5)  If an individual seeks admission or is referred to the facility outside of the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or during national holidays, then the facility may allow that person temporary occupancy under the direction of a Montana licensed physician or Montana licensed psychiatrist until the psychiatric evaluation can be conducted during the facility's next regularly scheduled business day.

(6) If an individual is referred to the facility by a licensed psychiatrist or licensed physician who is not affiliated with the facility, the psychiatric evaluation must still be completed by the facility's staff psychiatrist within the time frame otherwise prescribed for such an evaluation. If a psychiatric evaluation has been conducted by a Montana-licensed psychiatrist not affiliated with the facility, the staff psychiatrist must review and approve the evaluation and note such review and approval in the patient's records.

(7) When indicated, a complete neurological examination must be conducted within 72 hours of admission.

(8) A licensed physician must conduct a physical examination of each patient within 24 hours after or seven days prior to that patient's admission.

(9) The department hereby incorporates by reference codes 302.20, 302.30, 302.40, 302.71, 302.72, 302.79, 302.81, 302.82, 302.83, 302.84, 302.89, 302.90, 307.10, 307.50, 307.51, 307.52, 307.53, and 312.31 of the DSM III-R of the American Psychiatric Association, which contain descriptions of various diagnoses of mental disorders associated with eating disorders, pathological gambling, and sexual disorders. A copy of the manual may be obtained from the American Psychiatric Association, 1700 18th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009.

History: Sec. 50-5-103, MCA; IMP, Sec. 50-5-103, MCA; NEW, 1991 MAR p. 2454, Eff. 12/13/91; TRANS, from DHES, 2002 MAR p. 185.