N.J. Admin. Code § 8:135-3.3

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 8:135-3.3 - Factors

(a) Subject to (c) below, any one of the following factors serves as a basis for the transfer of an involuntarily committed patient from and to any facility listed at N.J.A.C. 8:135-3.2:

1. To place the patient in closer proximity to family members;

i. If a patient and the patient's family members disagree on a transfer request that is based on proximity to family members, hospital staff shall make a clinical determination based solely on the clinical best interest of the patient;

2. To place the patient in the appropriate hospital according to the patient's residence (catchment area);

3. To provide a new clinical and personal relationship in exceptional circumstances when a treatment impasse has developed over a sustained period of time;

4. To provide greater or less clinical structure or security;

5. To participate in a specialized medical or psychiatric service that is offered at another hospital or in the community that is more accessible from the receiving hospital;

6. As a result of a change in legal status;

7. To spare patients the consequences of overcrowding at a specific mental health facility;

8. In response to natural catastrophes, fires, or other life-safety concerns which necessitate transfer; or

9. As a consequence of inter-regional consolidation of services.

(b) A patient's stated preference for treatment at a particular State psychiatric facility is always a relevant consideration in transfer decisions; provided, and subject to (c) below:

1. Subject to (b)2 below, a transfer over a patient's objection is permitted when a clinical determination concludes that the transfer is:

i. In the patient's clinical best interest;

ii. Necessary for the safety of other patients; or

iii. Administratively necessary due to a factor listed at (a) above.

2. If a transferring facility can achieve the clinical or administrative purpose that the clinical determination specifies, from among the factors at (a) above, as the basis of a transfer and the patient objects to the transfer, the facility shall not transfer the patient.

3. The transfer of a patient shall be to the least restrictive available treatment setting that will achieve the purpose that the clinical determination specifies, from among the factors at (a) above, as the basis of the transfer.

(c) A transfer is only permitted when, in the judgment of the treatment team, the transfer's permissible purpose outweighs any potential harm to the patient from the transfer.

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:135-3.3

Amended by R.1991 d.453, effective 9/3/1991.
See: 23 New Jersey Register 1652(a), 23 New Jersey Register 2637(a).
Added new (a)1i and subsection (b).
Amended by R.2003 d.236, effective 7/7/2003.
See: 34 New Jersey Register 4290(a), 35 New Jersey Register 2903(a).
In (a)5, inserted "medical or" preceding "psychiatric"; in (b)2, substituted "available" for "necessary" following "alternative".

Amended and recodified from 10:36-3.3 by 55 N.J.R. 2258(b), effective 11/9/2023