§ 43A-1-103 — Definitions.

When used in this title, unless otherwise expressly stated, or unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. “Department” means the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; 2. “Chair” means the chair of the Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; 3. “Mental illness” means a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, psychological orientation or memory that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life; 4. “Board” means the Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as established by the Mental Health Law; 5. “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; 6. “Indigent person” means a person who does not have sufficient assets or resources to support the person and to support members of the family of the person lawfully dependent on the person for support; 7. “Facility” means any hospital, school, building, house or retreat, authorized by law to have the care, treatment or custody of an individual with mental illness, drug or alcohol dependency, gambling addiction, or an eating disorder including, but not limited to, public or private hospitals, community mental health centers, clinics, satellites, and community-based structured crisis centers; provided, that facility shall not mean a child guidance center operated by the State Department of Health; 8. “Consumer” means a person under care or treatment in a facility pursuant to the Mental Health Law, or in an outpatient status; 9. “Care and treatment” means medical care and behavioral health services, as well as food, clothing and maintenance, furnished to a person; 10. Whenever in this law or in any other law, or in any rule or order made or promulgated pursuant to this law or to any other law, or in the printed forms prepared for the admission of consumers or for statistical reports, the words “insane”, “insanity”, “lunacy”, “mentally sick”, “mental disease” or “mental disorder” are used, such terms shall have equal significance to the words “mental illness”; 11. “Licensed mental health professional” means: a. a psychiatrist who is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, b. a psychiatrist who is a diplomate of the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and Psychiatry, c. a physician licensed pursuant to the Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical Licensure and Supervision Act or the Oklahoma Osteopathic Medicine Act, d. a clinical psychologist who is duly licensed to practice by the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, e. a professional counselor licensed pursuant to the Licensed Professional Counselors Act, f. a person licensed as a clinical social worker pursuant to the provisions of the Social Worker’s Licensing Act, g. a licensed marital and family therapist as defined in the Marital and Family Therapist Licensure Act, h. a licensed behavioral practitioner as defined in the Licensed Behavioral Practitioner Act, i. an advanced practice nurse as defined in the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act, j. a physician’s assistant who is licensed in good standing in this state, or k. a licensed alcohol and drug counselor/mental health (LADC/MH) as defined in the Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors Act; 12. “Mentally incompetent person” means any person who has been adjudicated mentally or legally incompetent by an appropriate district court; 13. a. “Person requiring treatment” means a person who because of his or her mental illness or drug or alcohol dependency meets at least one of the following: (1) poses a substantial risk of immediate physical harm to self as manifested by evidence or serious threats of or attempts at suicide or other significant self-inflicted bodily harm, (2) poses a substantial risk of immediate physical harm to another person or persons as manifested by evidence of violent behavior directed toward another person or persons, (3) has placed another person or persons in a reasonable fear of violent behavior directed towards such person or persons or serious physical harm to them as manifested by serious and immediate threats, (4) is in a condition of severe deterioration that is continuing, as has been observed within the previous seventy-two-hour period such that, without immediate intervention, there exists a substantial risk that severe impairment or injury will result to the person, or (5) poses a substantial risk of immediate serious physical injury to self or death as manifested by evidence that the person is unable to provide for and is not providing for his or her basic physical needs. b. To the extent it is reasonably available, the relevant mental health or substance abuse history of the person shall be considered and may be proffered as part of the evidence to determine whether the person is a person requiring treatment or an assisted outpatient. The mental health or substance abuse history of the person shall not be the sole basis for this determination. c. In determining whether the person is a person requiring treatment, the following shall also be considered along with any other relevant information: (1) the person’s history of violence or criminal acts including unadjudicated criminal acts if evidence of the person’s culpability is evident or established, (2) the person’s history of compliance with mental and behavioral health medication and treatment, (3) the probability and result of the person’s noncompliance with medication and treatment if not committed, (4) the consumer’s history of using weapons in an illegal or unsafe manner, and (5) any previous instances of harm, attempted harm, or threatened harm to self or others. d. Unless a person also meets the criteria established in subparagraph a, b, or c of this paragraph, “person requiring treatment” or an “assisted outpatient” shall not mean: (1) a person whose mental processes have been weakened or impaired by reason of advanced years, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease, (2) a person who is an individual with intellectual disability or developmental disability as defined in Section 1408 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes, (3) a person with seizure disorder, (4) a person with a traumatic brain injury, or (5) a person who is homeless. e. (1) A person who meets the criteria established in this paragraph but who is medically unstable may be discharged and transported in accordance with Section 1-110 of this title. Alternatively, if the facility holding the person is able to treat the additional medical conditions of that person, the facility may treat the additional medical conditions in an effort to medically stabilize the patient. (2) If the facility holding the person is unable to treat the additional medical conditions of a person who meets the criteria established in this paragraph, the patient shall be discharged and transported in accordance with Section 1-110 of this title. (3) All time elapsed during medical stabilization tolls the twelve-hour time for an initial assessment pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection A of Section 5-208 of this title, and the one- hundred-twenty-hour emergency detention time pursuant to paragraph 3 of subsection A of Section 5-208 of this title; 14. “Petitioner” means a person who files a petition alleging that an individual is a person requiring treatment or an assisted outpatient; 15. “Executive director” means the person in charge of a facility as defined in this section; 16. “Private hospital or facility” means any general hospital maintaining a neuro-psychiatric unit or ward, or any private hospital or facility for care and treatment of a person having a mental illness, which is not supported by the state or federal government. The term “private hospital” or “facility” shall not include nursing homes or other facilities maintained primarily for the care of elderly and disabled persons; 17. “Individualized treatment plan” means a proposal developed during the stay of an individual in a facility, under the provisions of this title, which is specifically tailored to the treatment needs of the individual. Each plan shall clearly include the following: a. a statement of treatment goals or objectives, based upon and related to a clinical evaluation, which can be reasonably achieved within a designated time interval, b. treatment methods and procedures to be used to obtain these goals, which methods and procedures are related to each of these goals and which include specific prognosis for achieving each of these goals, c. identification of the types of professional personnel who will carry out the treatment procedures including appropriate medical or other professional involvement by a physician or other health professional properly qualified to fulfill legal requirements mandated under state and federal law, d. documentation of involvement by the individual receiving treatment and, if applicable, the accordance of the individual with the treatment plan, and e. a statement attesting that the executive director of the facility or clinical director has made a reasonable effort to meet the plan’s individualized treatment goals in the least restrictive environment possible closest to the home community of the individual; 18. “Telemedicine” means technology-enabled health and care management and delivery systems that extend capacity and access, which includes: a. synchronous mechanisms, which may include live audiovisual interaction between a patient and a health care professional or real-time provider to provider consultation through live interactive audiovisual means, b. asynchronous mechanisms, which include store and forward transfers, online exchange of health information between a patient and a health care professional and online exchange of health information between health care professionals, but shall not include the use of automated text messages or automated mobile applications that serve as the sole interaction between a patient and a health care professional, c. remote patient monitoring, and d. other electronic means that support clinical health care, professional consultation, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration; 19. “Recovery and recovery support” means nonclinical services that assist individuals and families to recover from alcohol or drug problems. They include social support, linkage to and coordination among allied service providers including but not limited to transportation to and from treatment or employment, employment services and job training, case management and individual services coordination, life skills education, relapse prevention, housing assistance, child care, and substance abuse education; 20. “Assisted outpatient” means a person who: a. is either currently under the care of a facility certified by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as a community mental health center, or is being discharged from the custody of the Department of Corrections, or is being discharged from a residential placement by the Office of Juvenile Affairs, b. is suffering from a mental illness, c. is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision, based on a clinical determination, d. has a history of lack of compliance with treatment for mental illness that has: (1) prior to the filing of a petition, at least twice within the last thirty-six (36) months been a significant factor in necessitating hospitalization or treatment in a hospital or residential facility including admission to a community-based structured crisis center as certified by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, or receipt of services in a forensic or other mental health unit of a correctional facility, or a specialized treatment plan for treatment of mental illness in a secure juvenile facility or placement in a specialized residential program for juveniles, or (2) prior to the filing of the petition, resulted in one or more acts of serious violent behavior toward self or others or threats of, or attempts at, serious physical harm to self or others within the last twenty-four (24) months, e. is, as a result of his or her mental illness, unlikely to voluntarily participate in outpatient treatment that would enable him or her to live safely in the community, f. in view of his or her treatment history and current behavior, is in need of assisted outpatient treatment in order to prevent a relapse or deterioration which would be likely to result in serious harm to the person or persons, and g. is likely to benefit from assisted outpatient treatment; 21. “Assisted outpatient treatment” means outpatient services which have been ordered by the court pursuant to a treatment plan approved by the court to treat an assisted outpatient’s mental illness and to assist the person in living and functioning in the community, or to attempt to prevent a relapse or deterioration that may reasonably be predicted to result in suicide or the need for hospitalization; and 22. “Urgent recovery clinic” means a clinic that offers voluntary services aimed at the assessment and immediate stabilization of acute symptoms of mental illness, alcohol and other drug abuse, and emotional distress. Unless the person receiving treatment consents to a longer duration or unless the person is placed into emergency detention under Sections 5-206 through 5-209 of this title, no more than twenty-three (23) hours and fifty-nine (59) minutes of services may be provided to a consumer during one episode of care at an urgent recovery clinic.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1953, p. 152, § 3, emerg. eff. June 3, 1953. Amended by Laws 1959, p. 185, § 1, emerg. eff. June 27, 1959; Laws 1963, c. 310, § 1, emerg. eff. June 19, 1963; Laws 1965, c. 32, § 1, emerg. eff. March 3, 1965; Laws 1965, c. 381, § 1, emerg. eff. June 29, 1965; Laws 1977, c. 145, § 2, emerg. eff. June 3, 1977; Laws 1978, c. 247, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1978; Laws 1980, c. 324, § 1, emerg. eff. June 17, 1980; Laws 1986, c. 103, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1986. Renumbered from § 3 of this title by Laws 1986, c. 103, § 103, eff. Nov. 1, 1986. Amended by Laws 1987, c. 118, § 2, operative July 1, 1987; Laws 1990, c. 51, § 23, emerg. eff. April 9, 1990; Laws 1992, c. 389, § 1, emerg. eff. June 10, 1992; Laws 2001, c. 186, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2001; Laws 2002, c. 488, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 394, § 2; Laws 2005, c. 195, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2005; Laws 2006, c. 16, § 18, emerg. eff. March 29, 2006; Laws 2006, c. 97, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2006; Laws 2008, c. 401, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2008; Laws 2010, c. 287, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2010; Laws 2011, c. 294, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2013, c. 37, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 213, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2015, c. 161, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2015; Laws 2016, c. 177, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2016; Laws 2017, c. 246, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2017; Laws 2019, c. 387, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019; Laws 2019, c. 475, § 29, eff. Nov. 1, 2019; Laws 2021, c. 293, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2021; Laws 2022, c. 297, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2022; Laws 2024, c. 96, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2024; Laws 2025, c. 364, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2025. NOTE: Laws 2005, c. 150, § 1 repealed by Laws 2006, c. 16, § 19, emerg. eff. March 29, 2006.