Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 28 > Chapter 1 > Part I - Short Title, Interpretations, and Definitions

• Addictive disorder: is a primary, chronic neurobiologic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• administrator: means a person in charge of a treatment facility or his deputy. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Behavioral health: is a term used to refer to both mental health and substance use. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• 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
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Court: means any duly constituted district court or court having family or juvenile jurisdiction. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Diagnosis: means the art and science of determining the presence of disease in an individual and distinguishing one disease from another. 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
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Medical psychologist: means a psychologist who has undergone specialized training in clinical psychopharmacology and has passed a national proficiency examination in psychopharmacology approved by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and who holds a current and valid license from the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• 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
• Peace officer: means any sheriff, police officer, or other person deputized by proper authority to serve as a peace officer. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
• Person of legal age: means any person eighteen years of age or older. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Person who has a mental illness: means any person with a psychiatric disorder which has substantial adverse effects on his ability to function and who requires care and treatment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• 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
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Psychiatric deterioration: means a decline in mental functioning, which diminishes the person's capacity to reason or exercise judgment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner: means an advanced practice registered nurse licensed to practice as a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, in accordance with the provisions of La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Psychiatrist: means a physician who has at least three years of formal training or primary experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Psychologist: means an individual licensed to practice psychology in Louisiana in accordance with La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Restraint: means the partial or total immobilization of any or all of the extremities or the torso by mechanical means for psychiatric indications. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Seclusion: means the involuntary confinement of a patient alone in a room where the patient is physically prevented from leaving for any period of time, except that seclusion does not include the placement of a patient alone in a room or other area for no more than thirty minutes at a time and no more than three hours in any twenty-four-hour period pursuant to behavior-shaping techniques, such as "time-out". See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• State psychiatric hospital: means a public, state-owned and operated inpatient facility for the treatment of mental illness and substance-related and addictive disorders. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2
• Substance use disorder: refers to a pattern of symptoms resulting from use of a substance which the individual continues to take, despite experiencing problems as a result. 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
• Treatment facility: includes but is not limited to the following, and shall be selected with consideration of first, medical suitability; second, least restriction of the person's liberty; third, nearness to the patient's usual residence; fourth, financial or other status of the patient; and fifth, patient's expressed preference, except that such considerations shall not apply to forensic facilities:

              (i) Public and private behavioral health services providers licensed pursuant to La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 28:2