NY Ment Hygiene L § 31.27 (2021)
2021 New York Laws MHY - Mental Hygiene Title E - General Provisions Article 31 - Regulation and Quality Control of Services for the Mentally Disabled 31.27 - Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Programs.

** § 31.27 Comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs.  (a) As used in this section:  (1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of mental health.  (2) "Crisis  intervention  services"  means  services  provided  in an emergency room located within a general hospital,  which  shall  include but   not  be  limited  to:  psychiatric  and  medical  evaluations  and assessments; prescription or adjustment of medication,  counseling,  and other stabilization or treatment services intended to reduce symptoms of mental illness when appropriate.  (3) "Crisis  outreach  services"  means psychiatric emergency services provided  outside  an  emergency  room  setting  including   evaluation, assessment   and  stabilization  services;  crisis  reduction  services; referral services; and other psychiatric emergency services.  (5) "Extended observation bed" means an inpatient bed which is  in  or adjacent  to  an  emergency  room  located  within a general hospital or satellite facility approved by the commissioner, designed to  provide  a safe  environment for an individual who, in the opinion of the examining physician, requires extensive evaluation, assessment,  or  stabilization of  the  person's  acute  psychiatric  symptoms,  except  that,  if  the commissioner determines that the program can provide for the privacy and safety of all patients receiving services in a hospital, he or  she  may approve the location of one or more such beds within another unit of the hospital.  (6) "General  hospital" shall be defined as in article twenty-eight of the public health law.  (9) "Psychiatric  emergency  services"  means  services  designed   to stabilize  and,  when  possible, reduce acute psychiatric symptoms of an individual who appears to be mentally ill and in crisis.  (10) "Triage and referral services" means services designed to provide preliminary diagnosis, assessment and evaluation of  individuals  served by a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program in order to direct such person to those services which appropriately address their needs.  (11) "Voluntary  agency"  shall be defined as in section 41.03 of this chapter.  (12)  "Satellite  facility"  means  a   medical   facility   providing psychiatric emergency services that is managed and operated by a general hospital  who  holds  a  valid operating certificate for a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program and  is  located  away  from  the  central campus of the general hospital.  (b)  (1)  The  commissioner may license the operation of comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs by general hospitals which  are  operated by  state  or  local governments or voluntary agencies. The provision of such services in general hospitals may  be  located  either  within  the state  or, with the approval of the commissioner and the director of the budget and to the extent consistent with state and  federal  law,  in  a contiguous  state.  The commissioner is further authorized to enter into interstate agreements for the purpose of facilitating the development of programs which  provide  services  in  another  state.  A  comprehensive psychiatric  emergency  program  shall  serve  as  a primary psychiatric emergency service provider within a defined catchment area  for  persons in  need of psychiatric emergency services including persons who require immediate observation, care and treatment  in  accordance  with  section 9.40  of  this chapter. Each comprehensive psychiatric emergency program shall provide or contract  to  provide  psychiatric  emergency  services twenty-four  hours  per  day,  seven  days  per  week, including but not limited to: crisis  intervention  services,  crisis  outreach  services, extended observation beds, and triage and referral services.  (2)  The  commissioner  of  mental  health  shall  require  that  each comprehensive psychiatric emergency program submit a plan. The plan must be approved by the commissioner prior to the issuance  of  an  operating certificate  pursuant  to  this  article. Each plan shall include: (i) a description  of  the program's catchment area; (ii) a description of the program's psychiatric emergency services, including but not  limited  to crisis   intervention   services,  crisis  outreach  services,  extended observation beds, and triage  and  referral  services,  whether  or  not provided directly or through agreement with other providers of services; (iii)  agreements  or affiliations with hospitals, as defined in section 1.03 of this chapter, to receive and admit persons who require inpatient psychiatric services;  (iv)  agreements  or  affiliations  with  general hospitals  to  receive  and  admit persons who have been referred by the comprehensive psychiatric emergency program and who require  medical  or surgical  care which cannot be provided by the comprehensive psychiatric emergency program; (v) a description of local resources available to the program to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations of persons, which  shall include  agreements  with  local mental health, health, substance abuse, alcoholism or  alcohol  abuse,  developmental  disabilities,  or  social services agencies to provide appropriate services; (vi) a description of the  program's  linkages  with  local police agencies, emergency medical services, ambulance services, and other transportation agencies; (vii) a description of local resources  available  to  the  program  to  provide appropriate  community mental health services upon release or discharge, which shall include case management services and agreements  with  state or local mental health and other human service providers; (viii) written criteria  and  guidelines  for  the development of appropriate discharge planning for persons in need of post emergency  treatment  or  services; (ix)  a  statement  indicating  that the program has been included in an approved local services plan developed pursuant to article forty-one  of this  chapter  for  each  local  government located within the program's catchment area; and (x) any other information or agreements required  by the commissioner.  (c)  Each  comprehensive  psychiatric  emergency program shall have at least one physician, who is a member of the  psychiatric  staff  of  the program,  on  duty  and  available  at all times, provided, however, the commissioner may promulgate regulations to  permit  the  issuance  of  a waiver  of this requirement when the volume of service of a program does not require such level of staff coverage.  (d) The commissioner  shall  promulgate  regulations  to  establish  a maximum  number  and  location of extended observation beds which may be provided in a program, including provisions to maximize the privacy  and safety  of all patients receiving services in the hospital in which such extended observation beds are located.  (e) The commissioner may prevent new presentations and admissions from entering  a  comprehensive  psychiatric  emergency  program   when   the commissioner  concludes  that  the  ability  of  the  program to deliver quality  services  would  be  jeopardized.  Before   reaching   such   a conclusion,  the  commissioner  shall consider the effect presenting new presentations and admissions may have on other hospital emergency  rooms which provide psychiatric emergency services, and the commissioner shall review  the  continued necessity for such prevention at least once every twenty-four hours.  (f) The commissioner and the commissioner of health shall enter into a cooperative  agreement  to  govern  the   operation   of   comprehensive psychiatric  emergency  programs  including  visitation,  inspection and supervision of such programs, enforcement of the conditions of operating certificates issued by the office of mental health and the department of  health,  and  the  protection  of  the   confidentiality   of   clinical information regarding patients at such programs.  (g) The office of mental health, the department of social services and the  department  of  health  shall  establish  a uniform system by which general hospitals  which  operate  comprehensive  psychiatric  emergency programs shall report the cost of operating such programs.  (h)  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law,  nothing in this section shall be interpreted to create an entitlement for any individual to receive psychiatric emergency services in a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program.   ** NB Repealed July 1, 2024