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Committee advances bill to let trained emergency physicians place involuntary psychiatric holds
Summary
AB 416 would authorize trained emergency physicians to place 72‑hour (5150) holds to help move patients out of crowded emergency departments; supporters said it would reduce dangerous delays, while disability advocates warned it could funnel more people into locked, for‑profit facilities without adequate county oversight.
The Assembly Health Committee voted to advance AB 416, which would authorize trained emergency physicians to place involuntary 72‑hour holds under Welfare and Institutions Code section 5150, a power that supporters said would reduce delays in emergency departments and speed transfers to psychiatric care when needed.
Assemblymember Krell, the bill's author, said patients in crisis sometimes wait hours or days for a law‑enforcement or county‑designated clinician to place a hold before they can be transferred to an inpatient psychiatric bed. “Emergency physicians are really well positioned to make these important decisions to determine whether a patient can care for themselves or is severely disabled,” Krell said.
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