RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Emergency Petition Process in Maryland
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 373
OP 378
VO 18
IS 4
A1 Jayaram, Geetha
A1 Janofsky, Jeffrey S.
A1 Fischer, Pamela J.
YR 1990
UL http://jaapl.org/content/18/4/373.abstract
AB Maryland’s Emergency Petition statute allows a violent or suicidal person with a mental disorder to be brought to an emergency facility for rapid evaluation regarding the need for emergency treatment. Although many states have similar laws, little has been written in the psychiatric literature about the emergency petition process. The investigators evaluated emergency petition documents, demographic data, and the adequacy of emergency room records for all patients brought to a large county hospital in Prince Georges County, Maryland, by emergency petition during a one-month period. All emergency petition patients in Prince Georges County are brought to this hospital site. Of 94 petitioned patients examined during the study period, 92 records were available for review. The emergency petition was found to meet appropriate legal criteria in 94 percent of cases. More than half of all patients evaluated were intoxicated on alcohol or illicit drugs, and the majority of these patients were released from the emergency room as no longer dangerous after their acute intoxication resolved. In contrast to previous studies most of the patients evaluated were affluent, had health insurance, and were employed.