Mental health: involuntary commitment.

Under existing law, when a person, as a result of a mental disorder, is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or is gravely disabled, he or she may, upon probable cause, be taken into custody by a peace officer, member of the attending staff of an evaluation facility, designated members of a mobile crisis team, or other designated professional person, and placed in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Health Care Services as a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation. Existing law requires that a written application be submitted to a facility before a person may be detained for evaluation and treatment on this basis, as specified. This bill would additionally authorize a nondesignated emergency physician or psychiatric professional, upon probable cause, to take the person into custody for a period of up to 72 hours for the purpose of obtaining evaluation and treatment from a designated professional person or to arrange the transfer of the person to a designated facility. The bill would provide that an application for detention for evaluation and treatment is valid in all counties in which there is a designated facility to which the person may be taken. The bill would require a designated facility to accept, within its clinical capability and capacity, all categories of persons for whom it is designated, without regard to insurance or financial status. The bill would authorize the communication of patient information amongst peace officers, specified medical personnel, and qualified professionals during an emergency, for purposes of providing emergency services, referral, and placement for the person.