Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Eligibility for Voluntary or
Conditional Voluntary Admission.
(a) A person may be admitted on a voluntary
status pursuant to M.G.L. c. 123, § 10 or a conditional voluntary status
pursuant to M.G.L. c. 123, §§ 10 and 11 to a facility upon written
application, provided that in the opinion of the facility director, or
designee, such patient qualifies for admission in accordance with
104 CMR
27.05(2), and has the
capacity to apply for such admission and is desirous of receiving
treatment.
(b) A person's
application for voluntary or conditional voluntary status shall only be
accepted upon a determination by the admitting or treating clinician that the
patient has reached 16 years of age, has capacity to apply for such status, and
is in need of care and treatment, or if application is made on behalf of the
patient by a legally authorized representative that the legally authorized
representative has authority to do so.
1. An
application made on behalf of a minor by the minor's parent or guardian may be
accepted upon a determination by the admitting or treating clinician that the
person making such application is in fact the minor's legally authorized
representative.
2. An application
made on behalf of a person by his or her health care agent may be accepted upon
a determination by the admitting or treating clinician that the health care
agent is acting pursuant to a valid and invoked health care proxy that has not
been revoked by the patient.
(c) For purposes of 104 CMR 27.06, capacity
to apply means:
1. that a patient admitted on
a voluntary status understands that he or she is in a facility for treatment
and that he or she may leave the facility at any time.
2. that a patient admitted on a conditional
voluntary status understands that he or she is in a facility for treatment,
understands the three-day notice provisions, and understands the facility
director's right to file a petition for commitment and thereby retain him or
her at the facility.
(2) Prior to admission, such person shall be
afforded the opportunity for consultation with an attorney, or with a person
who is working under the supervision of an attorney, concerning the legal
effect of the admission.
(3) Upon
admission, the patient and his or her legally authorized representative shall
receive information concerning the legal and human rights which he or she
retains after admission to the facility.
(4) A patient on voluntary status shall be
discharged upon his or her request, or upon the request of the patient's
legally authorized representative who applied for the admission of such
patient, in as provided in
104 CMR
27.09.
(5) A patient on conditional voluntary
status, or a legally authorized representative who applied for the admission of
such patient, may be required to give three days prior written notice to the
facility director of his or her intention to leave such facility or to withdraw
such patient from the facility. Upon submission of a three-day notice, the
facility director shall proceed as provided in
104 CMR
27.09(4).
(a) A patient admitted on application of a
health care agent pursuant to a health care proxy that has not been affirmed in
accordance with M.G.L. c. 201D may revoke such proxy orally or in writing,
which revocation shall constitute submission of a three-day notice; provided
however, that the patient may retract such three-day notice pursuant to 104 CMR
27.06(5)(b). The submission of a three-day notice by such a patient shall be
deemed a revocation of the health care proxy for purposes of 104 CMR
27.06(5).
(b) A three-day notice
may only be retracted by written notice to the facility director; provided
however, that such retraction shall only be accepted upon a determination by
the facility director or designee that the patient has the capacity to apply
for conditional voluntary status pursuant to 104 CMR 27.06(1)(c).
(c) A three-day notice and any retraction
thereof shall become part of the patient's record. (d) The form and content of
a three-day notice, or retraction thereof, shall be deemed sufficient so long
as it conveys the patient's intention, without requirement that it be on any
particular form of the facility.
(6) Prior to admitting a person on
conditional voluntary status, the admitting personnel shall inform such person
of the three-day notice requirements established in M.G.L. c. 123, § 11,
and of the facility director's right to file a petition for commitment upon
notice that the patient wishes to leave, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 123, §
11.
(7) A patient who is 16 or 17
years of age, or who during the course of hospitalization reaches 16 years of
age, and who has been admitted to a facility on a voluntary or conditional
voluntary status by application of a legally authorized representative shall
have the same rights as those patients 16 years of age or older who have
applied and been admitted on their own behalf, including the right to leave the
facility upon submission of a three-day notice of intent to do so, and the
right to remain at the facility, upon written application, despite notice by a
legally authorized representative of intention to withdraw such
patient.
(8) Application for
conditional voluntary admission shall be made only upon such form as the
Department may prescribe.
