Posted by LostBoyinNC45 on August 14, 2014, at 17:20:43
In reply to Re: a lot of it depends on your Pdoc » LostBoyinNC45, posted by baseball55 on August 13, 2014, at 21:00:26
Civil committment laws are highly variable, state to state. It is mostly a state law thing. NC has very liberal civil committment laws compared to say, most if not all Northern states such as Connecticut, NY, NJ...where civil liberties are taken very seriously. On the other hand, in those states where its harder to get a person committed (voluntarily or involuntarily), gun laws are generally much stricter. For example in CT and NY, it has become next to impossible to buy a new firearm and semi-automatic rifles are now outlawed.
When I was saying in NC outpatient Pdocs can put you in the hospital "at the drop of a hat," I was saying that as a figure of speech...please keep that in mind. They cannot indeed, "just put you in the hospital for any ole reason" down here. And there is a procedure for it, papers to be signed, etc.
The one time I have been in the hospital many years ago, (voluntary for nine days), my Pdoc told me he wanted me to "go to the hospital." I told him "OK" and they had to call my insurance company and had to arrange it with the psych ward of the general hospital I was going to. I drove myself to a local general hospital, went to the ER, never saw an ER doctor at all. Instead a psych nurse from the psychiatry ward came down to meet me, took me upstairs on the elevator where I was taken inside the psych ward area and had to fill out some very formal paperwork that clearly stated it was voluntary.
From my knowledge, the state with the strictest civil committment laws is not a state. Washington D.C. its very easy to get civilly committed.
Eric AKA "LostBoyinNC"
> There are Pdocs who prefer to hospitalize their outpatients at the drop of a hat if the outpatient mentions the word "suicide," even if the outpatient is not actually suicidal but just maybe needs a medication adjustment.
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> I don't know how it works in NC, but my experience is that outpatient p-docs can't hospitalize you at their discretion. First, you have to go through an emergency room and get there somehow (I guess a p-doc could call the police, but they can't really keep you in their office until the police arrive unless you stay willingly.)
> Second, the ER pdocs have to assess suicide risk. If you get to the ER and deny being suicidal, they'll probably let you go. The insurance companies certainly won't pay if you're not really suicidal. Third, if the ER docs, in consolation with the outpatient doc, decides to hospitalize you, they can only keep you for three days unless they get a court order and courts are very reluctant to commit people involuntarily.
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poster:LostBoyinNC45
thread:1069369
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20140717/msgs/1069766.html