New Jersey Statutes 26:2H-110. Authority of mental health care representative
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 26:2H-110
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
(1) The mental health care representative shall act in good faith and within the bounds of the authority granted by the advance directive for mental health care and by this act.
(2) The mental health care representative may consent to the patient’s admission to a psychiatric facility only as authorized pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection a. of section 6 of this act.
b. If a different individual has been appointed as the patient’s legal guardian, the mental health care representative shall retain legal authority to make mental health care decisions on the patient’s behalf, unless the terms of the legal guardian’s court appointment or other court decree provide otherwise.
c. The conferral of legal authority on the mental health care representative shall not be construed to impose liability upon that person for any portion of the patient’s health care costs.
d. An individual designated as a mental health care representative or as an alternate mental health care representative may decline to serve in that capacity.
e. The mental health care representative shall exercise the patient’s right to be informed of the patient’s mental health condition, prognosis and treatment options, and to give informed consent to, or refusal of, health care.
f. In the exercise of these rights and responsibilities, the mental health care representative shall seek to make the mental health care decision that the patient would have made if the patient possessed decision-making capacity under the circumstances, or, when the patient’s wishes cannot adequately be determined, shall make a mental health care decision in the best interests of the patient.
g. Departure from the decisions of a mental health care representative shall be permitted only if the responsible mental health care professional determines that compliance with those decisions would:
(1) violate the accepted standard of mental health care or treatment under the circumstances of the patient’s mental health condition;
(2) require the use of a form of care or treatment that is not available to the mental health care professional responsible for the provision of mental health services to the patient;
(3) violate a court order or provision of statutory law; or
(4) endanger the life or health of the patient or another person.
L.2005,c.233,s.9.