Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 82 - DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Chapter 82-5 - PATIENT'S RIGHT
Subject 82-5-1 - PATIENT'S RIGHT
Rule 82-5-1-.02 - Purpose, Implementation, and Definitions

Universal Citation: GA Rules and Regs r 82-5-1-.02

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through September 23, 2024

(1) Purpose. The Purpose of these regulations is to safeguard the rights of persons treated pursuant to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) Chapters 37-3, 37-4 and 37-7.

(2) Applicability. These regulations set forth rights of individuals served in hospitals and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities that are owned and operated by the Department.

(a) When the individual is a minor or an adult with a legally appointed guardian, the regulations are applicable to that person with certain exceptions as specifically stated in various parts of the regulations. These variations are noted in the text of the regulations.

(b) For persons being served by virtue of a court order related to a criminal matter, the regulations are applicable to the extent that they do not violate or conflict with the provisions of the order or the need to provide for the safety of the individual or of others.

(3) Implementation. Each facility shall instruct each staff member in the contents of these regulations. Each facility also, at the beginning of each individual's treatment, shall notify the individual or the individual's parent or guardian, if applicable, of the rights and remedies contained in these regulations and of their applicability to the individual. Notifications shall be done in a manner commensurate with the individual's abilities and capabilities of comprehension and understanding.

(4) Definitions. Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following terms used in these regulations shall have the meanings hereinafter set forth:

(a) "Chief Medical Officer" means the physician designated by the chief administrative officer of the facility with overall responsibility for individual treatment at any facility receiving individuals pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapters 37-3 or 37-7, or their designee. Where individuals are receiving treatment under the provisions of O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-4, this term shall include the term "Regional Hospital Administrator" when applicable.

(b) "Court," with the exception of references in these regulations to courts presiding over criminal cases in which an individual has been found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity, means, in the case of an individual who is 17 years of age or older, the probate court for the county of residence of the individual or the county in which such individual is found. In the case of an individual who is under the age 17 years, it means the juvenile court for the county of residence of the individual or the county in which such individual is found.

(c) "Department" means the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and includes its duly authorized agents and designees.

(d) "Facility" means any State-owned or State-operated Hospital and any State-owned or State-operated Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID).

(e) "Guardian" means a person appointed by a Court under O.C.G.A. Title 29 to act on behalf of an individual who has been judicially determined to lack sufficient capacity to make or communicate significant responsible decisions concerning his or her health or safety.

(f) "Individual" means any person with mental illness who receives treatment in a facility pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-3 and any person with a substance use disorder who receives treatment in a facility pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-7. It also includes any person with an intellectual or developmental disability who receives habilitation in a facility pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-4. "Individual" also includes a person for whom treatment or habilitation is sought. "Individual" also includes those who receive such services pursuant to a Court Order in a criminal case, including persons who are committed to a facility after having been found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity.

(g) "Individualized service plan" (ISP; also referred to as "Individual Recovery Plan" or IRP) means a plan that is developed during an individual's stay in a facility, and that includes specific elements based on the reason for the individual's stay, as follows:
1. If the individual's stay in the facility is pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-3 (i.e. related to mental illness as contemplated by that Chapter) or Chapter 37-7 (i.e. related to substance use as contemplated by that Chapter), the ISP must be specifically tailored to the individual's treatment needs, and shall clearly include the following:
(i) A statement of treatment goals or objectives, based upon and related to a proper evaluation, which can be reasonably achieved within a designated time interval;

(ii) Treatment methods and procedures to be used to obtain these goals, which methods and procedures are related to these goals and which include a specific prognosis for achieving these goals;

(iii) Identification of the types of professional personnel who will carry out the treatment and procedures, including appropriate medical or other professional involvement by a physician or other health professional properly qualified to fulfill legal requirements mandated under State and Federal law;

(iv) Documentation of the individual's involvement and, if applicable, the individual's acceptance of and/or adherence to the service plan; and

(v) A statement attesting that the chief medical officer or Regional Hospital Administrator, or that person's designee if such designee is a physician appointed in writing, has made a reasonable effort to meet the plan's individualized treatment goals in the least restrictive available environment possible, closest to the individual's home community.

2. The ISP also includes the corresponding individualized program plan for an individual's stay in a facility pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-4 (i.e. related to habilitation for intellectual/developmental disabilities as contemplated by that Chapter). Such an ISP shall be updated on a continuing basis, and shall include, at a minimum, the following elements:
(i) A statement of the nature of the specific problems and the specific needs of the individual;

(ii) A statement of the least restrictive setting available and conditions necessary to achieve the purposes of habilitation based upon the needs of the individual;

(iii) A description of intermediate and long-range goals with the projected timetable for their attainment;

(iv) A description of the proposed program, facility, or department(s) responsible for involvement with the individual to attain these goals;

(v) An explanation of criteria for acceptance or rejection of other alternative settings for habilitation; and

(vi) Proposed criteria for release to less restrictive settings for habilitation.

(h) "Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities" means a facility in which only individuals served pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-4 are served.

(i) "Physician" means any person duly authorized to practice medicine in this State pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 43-34 and, unless otherwise noted in these regulations, an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse or Physician Assistant practicing under the direction or supervision of a practicing Physician.

(j) "Regional Hospital Administrator" means the chief administrative officer who has overall management responsibility at any facility receiving individuals pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapters 37-3, 37-4, and 37-7, or an individual appointed as the designee of such Regional Hospital Administrator.

(k) "Representative" means the person appointed pursuant to O.C.G.A. Title 37, Chapters 37-3, 37-4, or 37-7 to receive notices and perform other actions authorized by O.C.G.A. Title 37, Chapters 3, 4, and 7.

(l) "Staff member" or "staff" means any person who is an employee, independent contractor, or other agent of the Department or of a facility. The use of "staff member" in these regulations for such persons shall in no way alter the legal relationship between such persons and the Department or subject the Department to any liability to which it is not otherwise subject.

(m) "Treatment" means care; diagnostic services; therapeutic services, including the administration of medications; and any other service for the treatment or habilitation of an individual. It includes such services, as well as social service care, vocational rehabilitation, and career counseling. It also includes habilitation of an individual pursuant to O.C.G.A. Chapter 37-4.

O.C.G.A. §§ 37-1-23, 37-1-40, 37-1-41, 37-3-2, 37-4-3, 37-7-2, 37-3-1, 37-4-2, 37-7-1.

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