Bill Text: NY S00775 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES [S00775 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S00775-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         775--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     January 4, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop-
          mental Disabilities -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the protection of
          mental health practitioners
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a  new  section
     2  9.42 to read as follows:
     3  § 9.42 Efforts  by  mental  health  practitioners to reduce or eliminate
     4           risks of harm.
     5    (a) For purposes of this section, the term "mental health  practition-
     6  er"  shall include any New York state licensed mental health practition-
     7  er, including physicians, psychologists, registered  psychiatric  nurses
     8  and nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical social workers.
     9    (b)  Notwithstanding  any  other law to the contrary, when a person to
    10  whom a mental  health  practitioner  is  currently  providing  treatment
    11  directly  communicates  a  threat  of  serious, imminent harm to self or
    12  against a  readily  identifiable  person  or  persons,  and  the  threat
    13  includes  both  a serious intent to act and the ability to carry out the
    14  threat, the mental health practitioner may make  timely  and  reasonable
    15  efforts  to  reduce  or eliminate the risk of harm. For purposes of this
    16  section, reasonable efforts may include, but are not limited to: modify-
    17  ing aspects of the treatment in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of
    18  harm; initiating procedures for hospitalization; notifying the  intended
    19  victim or victims; or notifying law enforcement officials.
    20    (c)  Whenever  a mental health practitioner is required to make timely
    21  and reasonable efforts pursuant to subdivision (b) of this  section,  he
    22  or  she  shall  also  comply with the provisions of section 9.46 of this
    23  article.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02386-02-7
        S. 775--A                           2
     1    (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed  to  require  a  mental
     2  health practitioner to take any action which, in the exercise of reason-
     3  able  professional  judgment,  would endanger such mental health practi-
     4  tioner or increase the danger to a potential victim or victims.
     5    (e) The decision of a mental health practitioner to disclose or not to
     6  disclose the patient's or client's confidential treatment information to
     7  others in accordance with this section, when made reasonably and in good
     8  faith,  shall  not  be  the basis for any civil or criminal liability of
     9  such mental health practitioner, including liability pursuant to  unpro-
    10  fessional  conduct  as described in the rules of the board of regents of
    11  New York state, part 29.
    12    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.