(a)  The official in charge of any facility, or his or her designated agent, on having his or her reasons noted on the patient‘s records, shall discharge any patient certified or admitted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, when:

(1)  Suitable alternatives to certification or admission are available;

(2)  The patient is, in the judgment of the official, recovered;

(3)  The patient is not recovered, but discharge, in the judgment of the official, will not create a likelihood of serious harm by reason of psychiatric disability.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-5-11

  • Care and treatment: means psychiatric care, together with such medical, nursing, psychological, social, rehabilitative, and maintenance services as may be required by a patient in association with the psychiatric care provided pursuant to an individualized treatment plan recorded in the patient's medical record. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-5-2
  • 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.
  • Facility: means any public or private hospital licensed by the Rhode Island department of health that maintains staff and facilities, including inpatient units, for the care and treatment of persons with psychiatric illness, psychiatric disorders, and/or psychiatric disabilities; and in order to operate pursuant to the Mental Health Act as codified in this chapter, such facility and/or inpatient unit must be approved by the director of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals upon application of such facility and/or inpatient unit, and any of the several community mental health services established pursuant to chapter 8. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-5-2
  • in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
  • Likelihood of serious harm: means :

    (i)  A substantial risk of physical harm to the person himself or herself as manifested by behavior evidencing serious threats of, or attempts at, suicide;

    (ii)  A substantial risk of physical harm to other persons as manifested by behavior or threats evidencing homicidal or other violent behavior; or

    (iii)  A substantial risk of physical harm to the mentally disabled person as manifested by behavior that has created a grave, clear, and present risk to the person's physical health and safety. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-5-2

  • Patient: means a person admitted voluntarily, certified or re-certified admitted to a facility according to the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-5-2
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Psychiatric disability: means a mental disorder in which the capacity of a person to exercise self-control or judgment in the conduct of the person's affairs and social relations, or to care for the person's own personal needs, is significantly impaired. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-5-2

(b)  When a patient discharge is requested and if the discharge is denied, the reasons therefor shall be stated, in writing, and noted in the patient’s record and a copy thereof shall be given to the person applying for the release.

(c)  At the expiration of the six-month (6) period set forth in § 40.1-5-8(j), or any subsequent six-month (6) period following recertification pursuant to this section, the patient shall be unconditionally released unless a recertification petition is filed by the official in charge of a facility, or his or her designated agent, within no less than fifteen (15) days and no more than thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled expiration date of a six-month (6) period. A hearing must be held pursuant to the petition and a decision rendered before the expiration of the six-month (6) period. A recertification hearing shall follow all of the procedures set forth in § 40.1-5-8 and recertification may be ordered only if the petitioner proves by clear and convincing evidence that the conduct and responses of the patient during the course of the previous six-month (6) period indicate that the patient is presently in need of care and treatment in a facility; is one whose continued unsupervised presence in the community would create a likelihood of serious harm by reason of psychiatric disability; and that all alternatives to recertification have been investigated and deemed unsuitable.

History of Section.
P.L. 1966, ch. 100, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 40-20-13; Reorg. Plan No. 1, 1970; G.L. 1956, § 40.1-5-13; P.L. 1974, ch. 119, § 1; P.L. 1976, ch. 203, § 1; P.L. 2022, ch. 231, art. 11, § 7, effective June 27, 2022.