O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 37-7-20 (2019)

Admission of voluntary patients; parental consent to treatment; giving notice of rights to patient at time of admission

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section GA-LEGlegis.ga.gov (official) JustiaJustia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) The chief medical officer of any facility may receive for observation and diagnosis any patient 12 years of age or older making application therefor, any patient under 18 years of age for whom such application is made by his parent or guardian, and any patient who has been declared legally incompetent and for whom such application is made by his guardian. If found to show evidence of alcoholism, drug dependence, or drug abuse and to be suitable for treatment, such person may be given care and treatment at such facility; and such person may be detained by such facility until discharged pursuant to Code Section 37-7-21 or 37-7-22. The parents or guardian of a minor child must give written consent to such inpatient treatment. An individualized treatment plan shall be developed for such person as soon as possible. (b) Any individual voluntarily admitted to a facility under this Code section shall be given notice of his rights under this chapter at the time of his admission.

History

Code 1933, § 88-404.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1971, p. 273, § 1; Code 1933, § 88-403.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1856, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 744, § 6.

Annotations

Cross references. - Giving of consent for surgical or medical treatment generally, T. 31, C. 9.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Involuntary treatment. - One who is admitted under subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 37-7-20 can be treated while

remaining a voluntary patient, and the reference in subsection (a) to voluntary patients under ‘‘subsection (a) of Code

Section 37-7-20’’ includes those who admit themselves for treatment. Ridgeview Inst., Inc. v. Wingate, 271 Ga. 512, 520 S.E.2d 445 (1999). Standards for involuntary retention of alcoholic patients are found in O.C.G.A. § 37-7-22 and by that section’s references to O.C.G.A. §§ 37-7-41, 37-7-61, and

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 2 cases, 1998–1999 · leading case: Wingate v. Ridgeview Inst., Inc., 504 S.E.2d 714 (Ga. Ct. App. 1998).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Wingate v. Ridgeview Inst., Inc., 504 S.E.2d 714 (Ga. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 32× “Although the dissent includes patients admitted for treatment under this section, the legislature did not choose to do so. By its express terms, this Code section pertains to "any patient .”

Ridgeview Inst., Inc. v. Wingate, 520 S.E.2d 445 (Ga. 1999). · cites it 16× “OCGA § 37-7-22 (a) governs the discharge of voluntary patients who are admitted under the provisions of OCGA § 37-7-20 (a). The Court of Appeals held that OCGA § 37-7-22 (a) did not apply to Wingate’s discharge because he was a voluntary patient for “treatment” rather than a…”

— 37-7-20(a) — 1 case

Wingate v. Ridgeview Inst., Inc., 504 S.E.2d 714 (Ga. Ct. App. 1998). “Although the dissent includes patients admitted for treatment under this section, the legislature did not choose to do so. By its express terms, this Code section pertains to "any patient .”

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.