Tennessee Code 33-6-702 – Request for current examination of mental condition – Payment
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-6-702
- Chief officer: means the person with overall authority for a public or private hospital or treatment resource, or the person's designee. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- Department: means the department of mental health and substance abuse services. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- 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.
- Hospital: means a public or private hospital or facility or part of a hospital or facility equipped to provide inpatient care and treatment for persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- Indigent person: means a service recipient whose resources, including property, assets, and income, are insufficient, under chapter 2, part 11 of this title, to pay for the cost of providing services and supports and who does not have a responsible relative or other legally responsible person who is able to pay for the cost of providing the services and supports. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- Licensed physician: means a graduate of an accredited medical school authorized to confer upon graduates the degree of doctor of medicine (M. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
- written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Any person hospitalized under a court order obtained under chapter 6, part 5 of this title, or the person’s attorney, parent, legal guardian, legal custodian, conservator, spouse or adult next of kin, shall be entitled, upon the expiration of ninety (90) days following the order and not more frequently than every six (6) months thereafter, to request, in writing, the chief officer of the hospital in which the person is hospitalized to have a current examination of the person’s mental condition made by one (1) or more physicians. If the request is timely, it shall be granted. The person shall be entitled at the person’s own expense to have a licensed physician not connected with the hospital to participate in the examination. If the person is indigent, is in a department facility, and makes a written request for examination, with the approval of the commissioner, the department shall assist the person in obtaining a licensed physician to participate in the examination in the person’s behalf. A physician so obtained by the indigent person shall be compensated for services out of unobligated funds of the department in an amount the department determines to be fair and reasonable.