West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 64 - Health › Title 64 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES › Series 64-59 - Patient Rights At State-Operated Mental Health facilities › Section 64-59-7 - Medical and Dental Care, Other Therapies, and Informed Consent

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
7.1. Physical
				Examination. All patients in a mental health facility shall have a physical
				health examination at least every six months and shall receive treatment and
				care for physical illness consistent with the standard of care.
7.2. Freedom from Unnecessary or Excessive
				Medication. All patients of mental health facilities have a right to be free of
				excessive medication unless otherwise clinically indicated.
7.3. Limits on Use of Medication. A
				medication shall not be used as punishment, for the convenience of staff, or as
				a substitute for a program of treatment, or in quantities that interfere with
				the patient's treatment program:
Provided,
That nothing in
				this rule prohibits the use of medication that is clinically indicated and
				prescribed consistent with the applicable standard of care to manage the
				patient as clinically necessary or to promote the discharge of the patient, or
				both.
7.4. Medication Explained to
				Patient. The use of medication shall be fully explained to patients, and
				documentation of these explanations made part of the treatment team member's
				documentation and progress notes.
7.5. Dental Care. Dental care including
				screening and treatment shall be provided for all long-term patients in a state
				hospital, and when identified as a need by the patient's treatment
				team.
7.6. Speech Pathology,
				Audiology, Language Therapy. Speech, language and audiology screening,
				evaluation and therapy services shall be conducted and provided by qualified
				clinicians when clinically indicated for a patient.
7.7. Physical and Occupational Therapy.
				Physical and occupational therapy screening, evaluation and therapy services
				shall be conducted and provided by qualified clinicians when clinically
				indicated for a patient.
7.8.
				Voluntary Patients and Non-Committed Patients' Consent to Treatment. No
				treatment may be given to any voluntary patient who has not been formally
				committed by final proceedings pursuant to W. Va. Code §
									27-5-4,
				§
									27-6A-2(b)
				or §
									27-6A-3
				without his or her written consent. The consents shall be obtained as a part of
				the admission package. If no informed consent is documented in the chart, the
				physician or person prescribing treatment shall provide such information to the
				patient before treatment is begun.
7.9. Consent to Treatment When Admitted for
				Examination. Except with respect to psychiatric emergencies, an individual has
				a right to refuse treatment. Individuals are sometimes admitted to a mental
				health facility under "custody for examination" procedures for whom treatment
				could be provided with minimal risk, but who, because of their mental condition
				do not refuse treatment but are not able to give informed consent to the
				treatment. In some cases, conditions exist which, if not treated, reasonably
				can be expected to cause permanent damage or severe pain. Treatment provided
				under such circumstances shall be done only if consistent with the applicable
				standard of care and the needs of the patient.
7.9.1. There is no statutory authority to
				provide treatment prior to actual commitment in the absence of informed
				consent. The procedures outlined in this rule are provided for use only when:
(1) treatment is not refused;
(2) no informed consent is forthcoming;
(3) the risk of harm from failure
				to treat is demonstrably greater than the risks from treatment; and
(4) the individual is unable to make any
				judgment to consent or refuse treatment.