1.A person with a substance use disorder may apply for voluntary treatment or
rehabilitation services directly to a facility or to a licensed physician and surgeon or
osteopathic physician and surgeon or to a mental health professional. If the proposed patient
is a minor or an incompetent person, a parent, a legal guardian, or other legal representative
may make the application. The licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and
surgeon, mental health professional, or any employee or person acting under the direction
or supervision of the physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental
health professional, or facility shall not report or disclose the name of the person or the fact
that treatment was requested or has been undertaken to any law enforcement of
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1. A person with a substance use disorder may apply for voluntary treatment or
rehabilitation services directly to a facility or to a licensed physician and surgeon or
osteopathic physician and surgeon or to a mental health professional. If the proposed patient
is a minor or an incompetent person, a parent, a legal guardian, or other legal representative
may make the application. The licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and
surgeon, mental health professional, or any employee or person acting under the direction
or supervision of the physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental
health professional, or facility shall not report or disclose the name of the person or the fact
that treatment was requested or has been undertaken to any law enforcement officer or law
enforcement agency; nor shall such information be admissible as evidence in any court,
grand jury, or administrative proceeding unless authorized by the person seeking treatment.
If the person seeking such treatment or rehabilitation is a minor who has personally made
application for treatment, the fact that the minor sought treatment or rehabilitation or
is receiving treatment or rehabilitation services shall not be reported or disclosed to the
parents or legal guardian of such minor without the minor’s consent, and the minor may
give legal consent to receive such treatment and rehabilitation.
2. Subject to rules adopted by the department, the administrator or the administrator’s
designee in charge of a facility may determine who shall be admitted for treatment or
rehabilitation. If a person is refused admission, the administrator or the administrator’s
designee, subject to rules adopted by the department, shall refer the person to another
facility for treatment if possible and appropriate.
3. A person with a substance use disorder seeking treatment or rehabilitation and who
is either addicted to or dependent on a chemical substance may first be examined and
evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon or a
mental health professional who may prescribe, if authorized or licensed to do so, a proper
course of treatment and medication, if needed. The licensed physician and surgeon or
osteopathic physician and surgeon or mental health professional may further prescribe a
course of treatment or rehabilitation and authorize another licensed physician and surgeon
or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental health professional, or facility to provide the
prescribed treatment or rehabilitation services. Treatment or rehabilitation services may be
provided to a person individually or in a group. A facility providing or engaging in treatment
or rehabilitation shall not report or disclose to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement
agency the name of any person receiving or engaged in the treatment or rehabilitation; nor
shall a person receiving or participating in treatment or rehabilitation report or disclose
the name of any other person engaged in or receiving treatment or rehabilitation or that
the program is in existence, to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency. Such
information shall not be admitted in evidence in any court, grand jury, or administrative
proceeding. However, a person engaged in or receiving treatment or rehabilitation may
authorize the disclosure of the person’s name and individual participation.
4. If a patient receiving inpatient or residential care leaves a facility, the patient shall be
encouraged to consent to appropriate outpatient or halfway house treatment. If it appears to
the administrator in charge of the facility that the patient is a person with a substance use
disorder who requires help, the director may arrange for assistance in obtaining supportive
services.
5. If a patient leaves a facility, with or against the advice of the administrator in charge
of the facility, the director may make reasonable provisions for the patient’s transportation
to another facility or to the patient’s home. If the patient has no home, the patient shall be
assisted in obtaining shelter. If the patient is a minor or an incompetent person, the request
for discharge from an inpatient facility shall be made by a parent, legal guardian, or other
legal representative, or by the minor or incompetent person if the patient was the original
applicant.
6. Any person who reports or discloses the name of a person receiving treatment or
rehabilitation services to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency or any person
receiving treatment or rehabilitation services who discloses the name of any other person
receiving treatment or rehabilitation services without the written consent of the person
in violation of the provisions of this section shall upon conviction be guilty of a simple
misdemeanor.