Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL
Part III - Mental Health Services
Chapter 3 - Client Services
Section III-303 - Hospital and Regional Overflow (Waiting List) Procedures

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code III-303

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

A. Hospitals will maintain their own waiting lists and will work with neighboring hospitals to place those for whom no bed is available at the initial facility.

B. A waiting list for inpatient treatment will be maintained by a designee of each regional director, and by the director of Orleans Inmate Treatment Service (OITS).

C. The person responsible for maintaining the regional or OITS waiting list will also assure that during the waiting period, the appropriate mental health clinic within the region maintains contact with the individual waiting or with those responsible for care of that individual during the waiting period and offers the most appropriate alternative treatment available through the center.

D. Center and hospital physicians will work cooperatively in assigning priority need to individuals who are waiting, based on the guidelines given below. Final decision regarding priority for admission shall rest with the hospital. Guidelines for assigning priority for admission are delineated as follows.

1. Priority for hospital admission should include consideration of the severity of clinical need, including the assessment of dangerousness to self and others; legal status; and availability and adequacy of supports for the patient as well as the availability and appropriateness of alternate forms of treatment.

2. Generally, top priority shall be given for admissions of persons who are medically assessed to be in current serious (life threatening) danger to self or others due to mental illness and who lack minimum supportive individuals and/or environment, and who also lack adequate access to outpatient and/or day treatment services due to any reason.

3. A high priority shall also be given to persons being held in jails and awaiting transfer to inpatient psychiatric services when medical assessment indicates that the state criteria for admission have been met by the individual.

E. The regional or OITS designee will notify hospitals immediately when an individual's circumstances or illness no longer require retention on the waiting list. Hospitals will notify the regional designee of all placements and bed offers declined, so that an accurate count of those waiting can be maintained.

F. On a monthly basis, the regional designee will prepare and submit to the Office of Mental Health (OMH) headquarters to the attention of the Information Service Division, the OMH Inpatient Waiting Census Report (See Appendix A). The report will be made for the calendar month and will be submitted no later than the third working day of the following month.

G. Hospital admission offices will retain all essential information over weekends, holidays, and evening hours, and update the waiting list with each region in their service area at the first opportunity on the next regular work day.

H. Hospitals will maintain a waiting list of persons awaiting services from the areas administratively designated by the Office of Mental Health.

1. By mutual agreement, hospitals may transfer persons to the waiting list of another hospital. If a person is initially referred to a hospital outside the assigned service area, and the individual must be placed on the waiting list, the appropriate hospital (within the person's service area) shall be notified and shall carry the name on their waiting list unless otherwise agreed.

2. If a hospital agrees to carry a person who is located outside its service area on its waiting list, that hospital assumes responsibility for maintaining contacts and reports to the appropriate regional or OITS designee as spelled out above.

I. Procedures for admission and maintenance of waiting lists by Feliciana Forensic Facility and outpatient services are unchanged.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:258.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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