2023 Texas Statutes › Health and Safety Code › Title 7 - Mental Health and Intellectual Disability › Subtitle C - Texas Mental Health Code › Chapter 578 - Electroconvulsive and Other Therapies › Section 578.003. Consent to Therapy

Sec. 578.003.  CONSENT TO THERAPY.  (a)  The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt a standard written consent form to be used when electroconvulsive therapy is considered.  The executive commissioner by rule shall also prescribe the information that must be contained in the written supplement required under Subsection (c).  In addition to the information required under this section, the form must include the information required by the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel for electroconvulsive therapy.  In developing the form, the executive commissioner shall consider recommendations of the panel.  Use of the consent form prescribed by the executive commissioner in the manner prescribed by this section creates a rebuttable presumption that the disclosure requirements of Sections 74.104 and 74.105, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, have been met.
(b)  The written consent form must clearly and explicitly state:
(1)  the nature and purpose of the procedure;
(2)  the nature, degree, duration, and probability of the side effects and significant risks of the treatment commonly known by the medical profession, especially noting the possible degree and duration of memory loss, the possibility of permanent irrevocable memory loss, and the possibility of death;
(3)  that there is a division of opinion as to the efficacy of the procedure;  and
(4)  the probable degree and duration of improvement or remission expected with or without the procedure.
(c)  Before a patient receives each electroconvulsive treatment, the hospital, facility, or physician administering the therapy shall ensure that:
(1)  the patient and the patient's guardian of the person, if any, receives a written copy of the consent form that is in the person's primary language, if possible;
(2)  the patient and the patient's guardian of the person, if any, receives a written supplement that contains related information that pertains to the particular patient being treated;
(3)  the contents of the consent form and the written supplement are explained to the patient and the patient's guardian of the person, if any:
(A)  orally, in simple, nontechnical terms in the person's primary language, if possible;  or
(B)  through the use of a means reasonably calculated to communicate with a hearing impaired or visually impaired person, if applicable;
(4)  the patient or the patient's guardian of the person, as appropriate, signs a copy of the consent form stating that the person has read the consent form and the written supplement and understands the information included in the documents;  and
(5)  the signed copy of the consent form is made a part of the patient's clinical record.
(d)  Consent given under this section is not valid unless the person giving the consent understands the information presented and consents voluntarily and without coercion or undue influence.
(e)  For a patient 65 years of age or older, before each treatment series begins, the hospital, facility, or physician administering the procedure shall:
(1)  ensure that two physicians have signed an appropriate form that states the procedure is medically necessary;
(2)  make the form described by Subdivision (1) available to the patient or the patient's guardian of the person;  and
(3)  inform the patient or the patient's guardian of the person of any known current medical condition that may increase the possibility of injury or death as a result of the treatment.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 705, Sec. 5.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1323, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 137 (H.B. 740), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.1397, eff. April 2, 2015.