Sec. 10.21.01.02. Definitions

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) “Administration” means the Behavioral Health Administration.

(2) "Administrative law judge (ALJ)" means an individual in the Office of Administrative Hearings who is authorized under State Government Article, §9-1604, Annotated Code of Maryland, to conduct hearings under this chapter.

(3) "Application for involuntary admission (Application for IVA)" means the application required under Health-General Article, §§10-614 and 10-615, Annotated Code of Maryland, to initiate the IVA of an individual to an inpatient facility.

(4) "Change of status hearing" means the IVA hearing that is convened when appropriate staff at an inpatient facility complete the application and certificates for IVA on behalf of an individual who is voluntarily admitted or court-ordered to the inpatient facility.

(5) "Department" means the Maryland Department of Health.

(6) "Discharge" means authorization by a physician for a voluntarily or involuntarily admitted individual to leave an inpatient facility.

(7) "Discharge summary" means a written evaluation by a physician that includes, at a minimum, the individual's diagnoses, summary of the treatment provided and progress during the current stay at the discharging inpatient facility, current mental status, prescribed medications, and treatment recommendations.

(8) "Geriatric Evaluation Services (GES)" means the staff of the county health departments that evaluate the appropriateness of admissions to State facilities or Veterans' Administration hospitals of individuals 65 years old or older.

(9) "Indigent" means that an individual has neither sufficient property to support the individual nor anyone able to support the individual to whom the individual is entitled to look for support.

(10) "Individual treatment plan (ITP)" means a treatment plan prepared for an individual in an inpatient facility according to the requirements outlined in Health-General Article, §10-706, Annotated Code of Maryland, and COMAR 10.21.03.

(11) Inpatient Facility.

(a) "Inpatient facility" means an inpatient institution that provides evaluation, care, or treatment for individuals who have mental disorders.

(b) "Inpatient facility" includes a Veterans' Administration (VA) hospital.

(12) "Involuntary admission (IVA)" means that an individual has been admitted to an inpatient facility by an ALJ following an IVA hearing pursuant to Health-General Article, §10-632, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(13) "Involuntary admission hearing (IVA hearing)" means an administrative proceeding at which an administrative law judge determines whether an individual who has been confined in an inpatient facility on the basis of application and certificates for IVA is retained as an inpatient or released from the inpatient facility without being admitted.

(14) "Medical clearance" means that an individual has been evaluated by a physician, a physician's assistant, or a nurse practitioner, and the evaluator has confirmed with the receiving inpatient facility that the receiving facility has the capacity to provide the necessary and appropriate medical management of the individual.

(15) "Medical record" means a record as defined in Health-General Article, Title 4, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(16) Mental Disorder.

(a) "Mental disorder" means a behavioral or emotional illness that results from a psychiatric or neurological disorder.

(b) "Mental disorder" includes a mental illness that substantially impairs the mental or emotional functioning of an individual so as to make care or treatment necessary or advisable for the welfare of the individual or for the safety of the person or property of another.

(c) "Mental disorder" does not include mental retardation or a primary diagnosis of alcohol or drug abuse.

(17) "Nolle pros" means "nolle prosequi" as set forth in Maryland Rule 4-247.

(18) "Observation status" means the status of an individual between the time the individual is initially confined in an inpatient facility on the basis of application and certificates for IVA and the time the individual is either admitted, voluntarily or involuntarily, to the inpatient facility or is released by a physician or by an ALJ from the inpatient facility without being admitted.

(19) "Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)" means the office created under State Government Article, §9-1602, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(20) "Office of the Public Defender (OPD)" means the office created under Article 27A, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(21) "Party" means the inpatient facility or the individual for whom an IVA hearing has been convened.

(22) "Petition for emergency evaluation" means a petition filed under the provisions of Health-General Article, §§10-620-10-629, Annotated Code of Maryland, to initiate the evaluation of an individual in an emergency facility that is designated by the Department, under the provisions of Health-General Article, §10-621, Annotated Code of Maryland, to perform emergency psychiatric evaluations.

(23) "Physician" means an individual who is licensed under Health Occupations Article, Title 14, Annotated Code of Maryland, to practice medicine in this State or, if the individual is working in a Veterans' Administration Hospital, authorized by the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs to practice medicine.

(24) “Physician’s, psychologist’s, or psychiatric nurse practitioner’s certificate” means the certificate completed according to the provisions of Health-General Article, §§10-616-10-617, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(25) "Presenter" means the individual, including an assistant attorney general, designated by the chief executive officer of an inpatient facility, who acts on behalf of the inpatient facility at an IVA hearing.

(26) “Psychiatric nurse practitioner” means an individual licensed under Health-Occupations Article, Title 8, Annotated Code of Maryland, to practice nursing in this State as a certified registered nurse practitioner-psychiatric mental health (CRNP-PMH).

(27) "Psychiatrist" means a physician who is identified as a specialist in psychiatry by the Board of Physician Quality Assurance or, if the physician is working in a Veterans' Administration Hospital, by the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs.

(28) "Psychologist" means an individual who is:

(a) Licensed under Health Occupations Article, Title 18, Annotated Code of Maryland, to practice psychology or, if the individual is working in a Veterans' Administration Hospital, authorized by the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs to practice psychology; and

(b) Listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.

(29) "Release" means the authorization for an individual who is confined in an inpatient facility on the basis of application and certificates for IVA to leave the inpatient facility:

(a) Given by a physician during the observation status period; or

(b) Ordered by an ALJ at an IVA hearing.

(30) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health.

(31) "Semiannual hearing" means the hearing that is held not sooner than 5 months or later than 6 months following an involuntarily admitted individual's last IVA hearing.

(32) "State inpatient facility" means an inpatient institution that is owned or operated by the State and that provides evaluation, care, or treatment for individuals who have mental disorders.

(33) "Stet" means the postponement of a trial pursuant to Maryland Rule 4-248.

(34) "Voluntary admission" means that an individual has been admitted to an inpatient facility on the basis of:

(a) A signed and endorsed formal application for voluntary admission pursuant to Health-General Article, §10-609 or 10-610, Annotated Code of Maryland;

(b) An informal request for admission pursuant to Health-General Article, §10-609, Annotated Code of Maryland; or

(c) If the voluntary admission is to a VA hospital, the procedure established by the VA hospital.

(35) "Working day" means any day except Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday on which State offices are closed.