Sec. 574.011. CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL EXAMINATION FOR MENTAL ILLNESS

(a) A certificate of medical examination for mental illness must be sworn to, dated, and signed by the examining physician. The certificate must include:

(1) the name and address of the examining physician;

(2) the name and address of the person examined;

(3) the date and place of the examination;

(4) a brief diagnosis of the examined person's physical and mental condition;

(5) the period, if any, during which the examined person has been under the care of the examining physician;

(6) an accurate description of the mental health treatment, if any, given by or administered under the direction of the examining physician; and

(7) the examining physician's opinion that:

(A) the examined person is mentally ill; and

(B) as a result of that illness the examined person is likely to cause serious harm to himself or to others or is:

(i) suffering severe and abnormal mental, emotional, or physical distress;

(ii) experiencing substantial mental or physical deterioration of his ability to function independently, which is exhibited by the proposed patient's inability, except for reasons of indigence, to provide for the proposed patient's basic needs, including food, clothing, health, or safety; and

(iii) not able to make a rational and informed decision as to whether to submit to treatment.

(b) The examining physician must specify in the certificate which criterion listed in Subsection (a)(7)(B) forms the basis for the physician's opinion.

(c) If the certificate is offered in support of an application for extended mental health services, the certificate must also include the examining physician's opinion that the examined person's condition is expected to continue for more than 90 days.

(d) If the certificate is offered in support of a motion for a protective custody order, the certificate must also include the examining physician's opinion that the examined person presents a substantial risk of serious harm to himself or others if not immediately restrained. The harm may be demonstrated by the examined person's behavior or by evidence of severe emotional distress and deterioration in the examined person's mental condition to the extent that the examined person cannot remain at liberty.

(e) The certificate must include the detailed reason for each of the examining physician's opinions under this section.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 744, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.