A. On receipt of an application for court-ordered evaluation, if the petition for court-ordered evaluation is not filed because it has been determined that the proposed patient will voluntarily receive an evaluation and is unlikely to present a danger to self or others until the voluntary evaluation, the evaluation agency provided for by the county, or a licensed behavioral health provider selected by the proposed patient, shall be immediately notified by the evaluation agency and shall provide a voluntary evaluation of the proposed patient at a scheduled time and place within ten days after the notice. The voluntary evaluation may be on an inpatient or outpatient basis and on completion shall be immediately delivered to the evaluation agency provided for by the county. The evaluation agency provided for by the county shall confirm receipt of the voluntary evaluation. If the voluntary evaluation recommends that the patient receive a court-ordered evaluation, the recommendation must be accompanied with an application for court-ordered evaluation.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 36-522

  • Adult: means a person who has attained eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Director: means the director of the administration. See Arizona Laws 36-501
  • Evaluation: means :

    (a) A professional multidisciplinary analysis that may include firsthand observations or remote observations by interactive audiovisual media and that is based on data describing the person's identity, biography and medical, psychological and social conditions carried out by a group of persons consisting of at least the following:

    (i) Two licensed physicians who are qualified psychiatrists, if possible, or at least experienced in psychiatric matters, who shall examine and report their findings independently. See Arizona Laws 36-501

  • Evaluation agency: means either of the following:

    (a) A health care agency that is licensed by the department and that has been approved pursuant to this title to provide the services required of that agency by this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501

  • Patient: means any person who is undergoing examination, evaluation or behavioral or mental health treatment under this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
  • Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Prepetition screening: means the review of each application requesting court-ordered evaluation, including an investigation of facts alleged in the application, an interview with each applicant and an interview, if possible, with the proposed patient. See Arizona Laws 36-501
  • Proposed patient: means a person for whom an application for evaluation has been made or a petition for court-ordered evaluation has been filed. See Arizona Laws 36-501
  • Psychiatrist: means a licensed physician who has completed three years of graduate training in psychiatry in a program approved by the American medical association or the American osteopathic association. See Arizona Laws 36-501
  • Psychologist: means a person who is licensed under Title 32, Chapter 19. See Arizona Laws 36-501
  • Voluntary evaluation: means the ongoing collection and analysis of a person's medical, psychological, psychiatric and social conditions in order to initially determine if a health disorder exists and if there is a need for behavioral health services and, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that the person's service plan is designed to meet the person's and the person's family's current needs and long-term goals. See Arizona Laws 36-501

B. Voluntary inpatient evaluation is subject to article 3 of this chapter.

C. Voluntary outpatient evaluation shall conform to the requirements of section 36-530, subsection D and section 36-531, subsections B, C and D and shall proceed only after the person to be evaluated has given consent to be evaluated by signing a form prescribed by the director that includes information to the proposed patient that the patient-physician privilege does not apply and that the evaluation may result in a petition for the person to undergo court-ordered treatment or for guardianship.

D. If the person who requested a voluntary evaluation does not appear or does not complete the appointments scheduled, the evaluation agency provided for by the county shall be immediately notified by the provider who was to conduct the evaluation. The evaluation agency shall then provide prepetition screening of the application for court-ordered evaluation in accordance with sections 36-521 and 36-521.01.

E. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Licensed behavioral health provider" means any of the following:

(a) A person who is licensed pursuant to Title 32, Chapter 33 and whose scope of practice allows the person to either:

(i) Independently engage in the practice of behavioral health.

(ii) Except for a licensed substance abuse technician, engage in the practice of behavioral health under direct supervision.

(b) A psychiatrist.

(c) A psychologist who is licensed pursuant to Title 32, Chapter 19.1.

(d) A registered nurse practitioner who is licensed pursuant to Title 32, Chapter 15 and who is certified as an adult psychiatric and mental health nurse.

2. "Practice of behavioral health" has the same meaning prescribed in section 32-3251.

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