Mental Health Records in Florida: Are You Looking for a Request for Discharge or Habeus Corpus?

Week 5 of Educational Series on Mental Health Records in Florida: Request for Discharge verses Habeas Corpus When either an emancipated minor or adult patient in a mental health facility in Florida desires to be discharged, there are 2 options for them, depending upon their admission/commitment status. For voluntarily admitted patients, a “Request for Discharge” …

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Week 4 of Educational Series on Mental Health in Florida: Understanding the Duty to Warn

         When a person expresses intent to harm someone, mental health providers are required to notify the intended victim(s). This requires the disclosure of this information to the person at risk. This does not, however, allow providers to disclose other information, such as the patient’s diagnosis or treatment; the patient still has rights to privacy …

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Top 10 Misunderstandings Related to Mental Health Care Procedures in Florida

Education for Legal Professionals: Week 3 If a person voluntarily checks themself into a mental health facility, they are not able to leave the facility unless the attending provider consents. The patient can fill out a form to formally apply to be discharged and the provider has up to 24 hours to agree or decline. …

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Understanding Psychiatric-Mental Health Patient Records in Florida: A Discussion of Week 1 Questions and Answers

This is week 2 of an educational series, created to help attorneys, paralegals, and legal nurse consultants review psychiatric-mental health patient records efficiently and thoroughly. Last week, I posted a few questions about psychiatric-mental health records. This week, we are going to review them and discuss some of the many possible answers. Have ALL records …

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Educational Series for Legal Professionals: Understanding Psychiatric-Mental Health Patient Records in Florida

Greetings, readers, and welcome back! This is week 1 of an educational series, created to help attorneys, paralegals, and legal nurse consultants review psychiatric-mental health patient records efficiently and thoroughly. Psychiatric-mental health patient records are complex and contain legal documents which are not part of non-psychiatric medical records. If given these records to review, would …

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Death of Resident Who Fell from Nursing Home Window: A Lesson in Taking Suicidal Thoughts Seriously in Elderly Populations, or is There More to This Story?

When residents of nursing homes report suicidal thoughts, what is the appropriate response? How can one determine if residents’ statements are an expression of being unhappy with their living arrangements or if they have actual intent to harm themselves? While every situation is unique, one thing is for certain- every person who reports having suicidal …

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The Introvert’s Guide to Attending Business Conventions

First off, give yourself some grace. If you feel the need to step away, do it. Convention centers (especially the gorgeous resort-style venues in Orlando) always have some nice little sweet spot (or many) to spend a few minutes alone. At the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants’ Annual Forum this past April, I found several. …

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Florida’s Public Mental Health System FAQ’s

Q: Who runs Florida’s Mental Health System? A: Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) Q: Where does funding come from? A: Federal grants and the Florida Legislature Q: Who pays for Community Mental Health Centers and Services? A: They are all fully privatized. Florida does not directly provide Community Mental Health services. For more …

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Man Dies by Police Shooting in Florida Hospital: Is the Emergency Department Staff at Fault?

Yesterday on Monday, May 16, 2022, in West Palm Beach Florida, the Channel 12 News I-Team shared the tragic story of a how a mental health patient, Zachary Taylor Anderson, was shot by police in an emergency department after charging them with a pair of scissors [The hunt to find mental health resources in Florida …

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What Amber Heard’s Attorney Should Have Known: Hire a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Expert

Many of us have seen the unfortunate cross-examination of the licensed mental health practitioner by Amber Heard’s attorney. This is an excellent example of the important role board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurses (PMH-BCs) play in helping attorneys prepare for trial when mental health issues are involved. Heard’s attorney was obviously not prepared to cross-examine a mental …

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