Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:96 – A. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the administrator or treating physician may discharge any patient committed to a psychiatric hospital if he believes that the patient
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:96
- administrator: means a person in charge of a treatment facility or his deputy. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Client: refers to a recipient of services who has been charged with or convicted of a crime and who requires special protection and restraint in a forensic treatment facility. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Court: means any duly constituted district court or court having family or juvenile jurisdiction. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Discharge: means the full or conditional release from a treatment facility of any person admitted or otherwise detained under this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- 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.
- Patient: means any person detained and taken care of as a person who has a mental illness or person who is suffering from a substance-related or addictive disorder. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Physician: means an individual licensed to practice medicine by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners in active practice or an individual in a post-graduate medical training program of an accredited medical school in Louisiana or a medical officer similarly qualified by the government of the United States while in the state in the performance of his official duties. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Transfer: means the removal of a patient from one mental institution to another without any procedure for admission other than is prescribed by the department. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
- Treatment: means an active effort to accomplish an improvement in the mental condition or behavior of a patient or to prevent deterioration in his condition or behavior. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
A. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the administrator or treating physician may discharge any patient committed to a psychiatric hospital if he believes that the patient has sufficiently recovered and that no harm will result from his discharge.
B. The administrator or treating physician shall as frequently as practicable, but not less often than every six months, examine or cause to be examined every patient and may discharge the patient and immediately make a report thereof to the court when necessary or appropriate.
C. A client committed in accordance with the provisions of Article 648 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be discharged only in the manner provided in that Article.
D. A patient committed in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 28:59 shall be discharged only upon order of the committing court.
E. A patient who has shown dangerous tendencies shall be discharged upon conditional release with the written consent of the court after an examination and after sufficient guarantee of proper supervision of the patient by a person who is approved by the court.
F. A patient whose discharge is opposed by a legal guardian, relative, or other interested person shall be discharged only after the person opposing has been notified and given an opportunity to state his reasons why the patient should be detained for further care and treatment.
G. A patient who has a mental illness who no longer requires treatment may be discharged with the approval of the attending physician and treatment team.
H. A patient who has a mental illness and is convicted of a crime prior to his transfer to a psychiatric hospital shall not be discharged prior to the time he might have been discharged from his original place of detention.
Amended by Acts 1954, No. 701, §1; Acts 1974, No. 294, §1; Acts 2017, No. 369, §2.