Texas Health and Safety Code 592.154 – Physician’s Application for Order to Authorize Psychoactive Medication; Date of Hearing
(a) A physician who is treating a client may file an application in a probate court or a court with probate jurisdiction on behalf of the state for an order to authorize the administration of a psychoactive medication regardless of the client’s refusal if:
(1) the physician believes that the client lacks the capacity to make a decision regarding the administration of the psychoactive medication;
(2) the physician determines that the medication is the proper course of treatment for the client; and
(3) the client has been committed to a residential care facility under Subchapter C, Chapter 593, or other law or an application for commitment to a residential care facility under Subchapter C, Chapter 593, has been filed for the client.
(b) An application filed under this section must state:
(1) that the physician believes that the client lacks the capacity to make a decision regarding administration of the psychoactive medication and the reasons for that belief;
(2) each medication the physician wants the court to compel the client to take;
(3) whether an application for commitment to a residential care facility under Subchapter C, Chapter 593, has been filed;
(4) whether an order committing the client to a residential care facility has been issued and, if so, under what authority it was issued;
(5) the physician’s diagnosis of the client; and
(6) the proposed method for administering the medication and, if the method is not customary, an explanation justifying the departure from the customary methods.
Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code 592.154
- Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
- 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.
- Probate: Proving a will
(c) An application filed under this section must be filed separately from an application for commitment to a residential care facility.
(d) The hearing on the application may be held on the same date as a hearing on an application for commitment to a residential care facility under Subchapter C, Chapter 593, but the hearing must be held not later than 30 days after the filing of the application for the order to authorize psychoactive medication. If the hearing is not held on the same date as the application for commitment to a residential care facility under Subchapter C, Chapter 593, and the client is transferred to a residential care facility in another county, the court may transfer the application for an order to authorize psychoactive medication to the county where the client has been transferred.
(e) Subject to the requirement in Subsection (d) that the hearing shall be held not later than 30 days after the filing of the application, the court may grant one continuance on a party’s motion and for good cause shown. The court may grant more than one continuance only with the agreement of the parties.