Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
House committee reviews bill to expand who can certify emergency mental-health exams
Summary
The House Health Care committee held a first hearing on H573, which would let physician assistants and several master's-level mental-health clinicians complete the certificate that authorizes emergency hospital exams under involuntary commitment; supporters say it would speed evaluations, while witnesses warned nonmedical certifiers may miss medical causes of symptoms.
The House Health Care committee on Feb. 18 heard testimony on H573, a bill that would broaden which professionals may complete the certification that allows a person to be held for an emergency mental-health exam under the state's involuntary-commitment process.
Katie McLean of the Legislative Council told members the measure would change statutory language in Title 18 to replace the term "licensed physician" with the broader term "health care professional." McLean said the bill's draft defines that term to include physicians and advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) — both already authorized — and would add physician assistants, master's-level social workers, clinical mental health counselors (master's or greater) and marriage and family therapists.
"This is really the focus of the bill you're gonna be looking at today," McLean said, explaining…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
