Texas Health and Safety Code 576.006 – Rights Subject to Limitation
(a) A patient in an inpatient mental health facility has the right to:
(1) receive visitors;
(2) communicate with a person outside the facility by telephone and by uncensored and sealed mail; and
(3) communicate by telephone and by uncensored and sealed mail with legal counsel, the department, the courts, and the state attorney general.
(b) The rights provided in Subsection (a) are subject to the general rules of the facility. The physician ultimately responsible for the patient’s treatment may also restrict a right only to the extent that the restriction is necessary to the patient’s welfare or to protect another person but may not restrict the right to communicate with legal counsel, the department, the courts, or the state attorney general.
Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code 576.006
- 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 corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) If a restriction is imposed under this section, the physician ultimately responsible for the patient’s treatment shall document the clinical reasons for the restriction and the duration of the restriction in the patient’s clinical record. That physician shall inform the patient and, if appropriate, the patient’s parent, managing conservator, or guardian of the clinical reasons for the restriction and the duration of the restriction.