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NY A06849
Bill
Status
3/22/2017
Primary Sponsor
Phillip Steck
Click for details
AI Summary
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Defines "mental health practitioners" to include physicians, psychologists, registered psychiatric nurses, nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical social workers in New York State.
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Requires mental health practitioners to make timely and reasonable efforts to reduce or eliminate risk of harm when a patient directly communicates a threat of serious, imminent harm to themselves or a readily identifiable person, with both serious intent and ability to carry out the threat.
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Authorizes practitioners to modify treatment, initiate hospitalization procedures, notify intended victims, or notify law enforcement as reasonable efforts to prevent harm.
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Provides civil and criminal liability protection for mental health practitioners who reasonably and in good faith disclose confidential patient information or take action under this section.
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Exempts practitioners from any obligation to take action that would endanger themselves or increase danger to potential victims according to their reasonable professional judgment.
Legislative Description
Imposes a duty to protect upon mental health practitioners; requires reasonable efforts to modify aspects of treatment in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm, initiating procedures for hospitalization, notifying the intended victim or victims, or notifying law enforcement officials when a person directly communicates a threat of serious, imminent harm to self or against a readily identifiable person or persons, and the threat includes both a serious intent to act and the ability to carry out the threat; does not require a mental health practitioner to take any action which, in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment, would endanger such mental health practitioner or increase the danger to a potential victim or victims.
Last Action
referred to mental health
1/3/2018