Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 17a — SOCIAL AND HUMAN SERVICES AND RESOURCES · Chapter 319i — Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-545 (2026)

(Formerly Sec. 17-206f). Physical and psychiatric examinations

✓ current as of May 2026
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Every patient hospitalized under any of sections 17a-540 to 17a-550, inclusive, shall receive a physical examination within five days of his hospitalization, and at least once each year thereafter. Every patient shall be examined by a psychiatrist within forty-eight hours of his hospitalization, and at least once each six months thereafter. Reports of all physical and psychiatric examinations shall be completed and signed by the examining physicians and made a part of the patient's permanent clinical record.

(1971, P.A. 834, S. 6.)

History: Sec. 17-206f transferred to Sec. 17a-545 in 1991.

Annotations to former section 17-206f:

Cited. 17 CA 130.

A child 17 years of age may demand, on his own authority, release from a psychiatric institution to which he was voluntarily admitted at 15 years of age upon written request of his parents. 30 CS 886.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2004–2023 · leading case: Wiseman v. Armstrong, 850 A.2d 114 (Conn. 2004).
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Wiseman v. Armstrong, 850 A.2d 114 (Conn. 2004). · cites it 2× “” Count eleven of the plaintiffs complaint alleged that the defendants failed to conduct psychiatric examinations of the decedent in violation of General Statutes § 17a-545, which provides: “Every patient hospitalized under any of sections 17a-540 to 17a-550, inclusive, shall…”
Hopkins v. O'CONNOR, 925 A.2d 1030 (Conn. 2007). ““(b) Any person admitted and detained under this section shall be examined by a physician specializing in psychiatry within forty-eight hours of admission as provided in section 17a-545. If such physician is of the opinion that the person does not meet the criteria for emergency…”
Comm'r of Mental Health & Addiction Servs. v. Freedom of Info. Comm'n, 347 Conn. 675 (Conn. 2023). · cites it 4× “Addi- tionally, we recognized that General Statutes § 17a-545 reflects a legislative judgment that ‘‘mental health con- ditions are often related to physical disorders and that the proper treatment of mental health involves the treat- ment of physical issues as well.”
Comm'r of Mental Health & Addiction Servs. v. Freedom of Info. Comm'n (Conn. 2023). · cites it 2× “We also deemed certain administrative documents privileged ‘‘because they contain[ed] identifying information and information related to [the patient’s] diagnosis.”
Freedom of Info. Officer, Dept. of Mental Health & Addiction Servs. v. Freedom of Info. Comm'n (Conn. 2015). · cites it 3× “In support of its interpretation, the department cites to General Statutes § 17a-545, a provision that requires an inpatient psychiatric facility to conduct annual physi- cal examinations of its patients, and argues that this demonstrates the legislature’s acknowledgment that…”
Freedom of Info. Officer, Dept. of Mental Health & Addiction Servs. v. Freedom of Info. Comm'n (Conn. 2015). · cites it 3× “9 General Statutes § 17a-545 provides: ‘‘Every patient hospitalized under any of sections 17a-540 to 17a-550, inclusive, shall receive a physical examina- tion within five days of his hospitalization, and at least once each year thereafter.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.