Bill Text: NY S07969 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Imposes a duty to protect upon mental health practitioners; requires reasonable efforts to modify aspects of treatment in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm, initiating procedures for hospitalization, notifying the intended victim or victims, or notifying law enforcement officials when a person directly communicates a threat of serious, imminent harm to self or against a readily identifiable person or persons, and the threat includes both a serious intent to act and the ability to carry out the threat; does not require a mental health practitioner to take any action which, in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment, would endanger such mental health practitioner or increase the danger to a potential victim or victims.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-04 - REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH [S07969 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07969-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7969

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 4, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  PARKER, O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the protection of
          mental health practitioners

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section
     2  9.42 to read as follows:
     3  § 9.42 Efforts by mental health practitioners  to  reduce  or  eliminate
     4           risks of harm.
     5    (a)  For purposes of this section, the term "mental health practition-
     6  er" shall include any New York state licensed mental health  practition-
     7  er,  including  physicians, psychologists, registered psychiatric nurses
     8  and nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical social workers.
     9    (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, when  a  person  to
    10  whom  a  mental  health  practitioner  is  currently providing treatment
    11  directly communicates a threat of serious,  imminent  harm  to  self  or
    12  against  a  readily  identifiable  person  or  persons,  and  the threat
    13  includes both a serious intent to act and the ability to carry  out  the
    14  threat,  the  mental  health practitioner may make timely and reasonable
    15  efforts to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm. For  purposes  of  this
    16  section, reasonable efforts may include, but are not limited to: modify-
    17  ing aspects of the treatment in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of
    18  harm;  initiating procedures for hospitalization; notifying the intended
    19  victim or victims; or notifying law enforcement officials.
    20    (c) Whenever a mental health practitioner is required to  make  timely
    21  and  reasonable  efforts pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, he
    22  or she shall also comply with the provisions of  section  9.46  of  this
    23  article.
    24    (d)  Nothing  in  this  section shall be construed to require a mental
    25  health practitioner to take any action which, in the exercise of reason-
    26  able professional judgment, would endanger such  mental  health  practi-
    27  tioner or increase the danger to a potential victim or victims.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05477-01-3
        S. 7969                             2

     1    (e) The decision of a mental health practitioner to disclose or not to
     2  disclose the patient's or client's confidential treatment information to
     3  others in accordance with this section, when made reasonably and in good
     4  faith,  shall  not  be  the basis for any civil or criminal liability of
     5  such  mental health practitioner, including liability pursuant to unpro-
     6  fessional conduct as described in the rules of the board of  regents  of
     7  New York state, part 29.
     8    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.