Negate Clients right to refuse

[Arwen7]

Has anyone heard of a law that negates the Clients Right to refuse long term antipsychotics. My Employer is telling me that under involuntary status they no longer have the right to refuse. I know I don't need written consent but I thought it just meant they were in contempt of the court order.

[elkpark]

That varies from state to state. You need to be familiar with what the mental health laws in your state say. I've been in psych in a few different states over the years, and, in all the states in which I've practiced, being involuntarily committed meant only that you were being detained against your will for evaluation, not that you lost any of your rights to refuse treatment (outside of an emergency situation (acutely dangerous to self or others), in which anyone can be medicated or restrained against her/his will, regardless of commitment status).

State mental health rules and regs are usually available for review online. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the rules/regs in your state. Also, your facility's legal department should be able to provide you with accurate information.

AFAIK, every state has some form of legal mechanism to provide for forced psychiatric medication in a non-emergency situation, but, in my experience, it is significantly more complicated than the person just being held on an involuntary commitment; in my experience, it involves going to court for a court order, or multiple physicians certifying in the record that the person is unable to consent because of the psychiatric condition, which is likely to continue to deteriorate without the medication.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

I would look up my state/province's laws for involuntary admissions and determining capacity to consent to treatment.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Some states have Mental Health Advance Directives, in which patients agree in writing to involuntary medication under certain circumstances.