Statutes: North Dakota

In this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

1. “Advanced practice registered nurse” means an individual who is licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse under chapter 43-12.1 within the role of certified nurse practitioner or certified clinical nurse specialist, who has completed the requirements for a minimum of a master’s degree in psychiatric and mental health nursing from an accredited program, and who is functioning within the scope of practice in one of the population foci as approved by the state board of nursing. This chapter does not expand the scope of practice of an advanced practice registered nurse beyond the scope of practice established by the state board of nursing.

2. “Alternative treatment order” means an involuntary outpatient order for a treatment program, other than hospitalization, which may include treatment with a prescribed medication.

3. “Chemically dependent person” means an individual with an illness or disorder characterized by a maladaptive pattern of usage of alcohol or drugs, or a combination thereof, resulting in social, occupational, psychological, or physical problems.

4. “Consent” means voluntary permission based upon full disclosure of facts necessary to make a decision and which is given by an individual who has the ability to understand those facts.

5. “Court” means, except when otherwise indicated, the district court serving the county in which the respondent resides.

6. “Department” means the department of health and human services.

7. “Director” means the director of a treatment facility or the director’s designee.

8. “Expert examiner” means a licensed physician, physician assistant, psychiatrist, psychologist trained in a clinical program, advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed addiction counselor appointed by the court to examine the respondent and to provide an evaluation of whether the respondent is a person requiring treatment.

9. “Independent expert examiner” means a licensed physician, physician assistant, psychiatrist, psychologist trained in a clinical program, advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed addiction counselor, chosen at the request of the respondent to provide an independent evaluation of whether the respondent is a person requiring treatment.

10. “Individual with a substance use disorder” means an individual with an illness or disorder characterized by a maladaptive pattern of usage of alcohol or drugs, or a combination thereof, resulting in social, occupational, psychological, or physical problems.

11. “Magistrate” means the judge of the appropriate district or juvenile court or a judge assigned by the presiding judge of the judicial district.

12. “Mental health professional” means:

a. A psychologist with at least a master’s degree who has been either licensed or approved for exemption by the North Dakota board of psychology examiners.

b. A social worker with a master’s degree in social work from an accredited program.

c. An advanced practice registered nurse.

d. A registered nurse with a minimum of two years of psychiatric clinical experience under the supervision of an expert examiner.

e. A licensed addiction counselor.

f. A licensed professional counselor with a master’s degree in counseling from an accredited program who has either successfully completed the advanced training beyond the master’s degree as required by the national academy of mental health counselors or a minimum of two years of clinical experience in a mental health agency or setting under the supervision of a psychiatrist or psychologist.

g. A physician assistant.

13. “Mentally ill person” or “person who is mentally ill” means an individual with an organic, mental, or emotional disorder that substantially impairs the capacity to use self-control, judgment, and discretion in the conduct of personal affairs and social relations. The term does not include an individual with an intellectual disability of significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning that originates during the developmental period and is associated with impairment in adaptive behavior, although an individual who is intellectually disabled may also be a person who is mentally ill. A substance use disorder does not per se constitute mental illness, although an individual with a substance use disorder may also be a person who is mentally ill.

14. “Person requiring treatment” means a person who is mentally ill or an individual with a substance use disorder, and there is a reasonable expectation that if the individual is not treated for the mental illness or substance use disorder there exists a serious risk of harm to that individual, others, or property.

15. “Physician assistant” means an individual licensed to practice as a physician assistant under chapter 43-17, who is authorized by the North Dakota board of medicine to practice in the field of psychiatry, holds a certification in psychiatry approved by the board, and is practicing under the supervision of a psychiatrist licensed to practice medicine in this state. This chapter does not expand the scope of practice of a physician assistant beyond the scope of practice authorized by the North Dakota board of medicine.

16. “Private treatment facility” means any facility established under chapter 10-19.1 or 10-33 and licensed under chapter 23-16 or 50-31.

17. “Psychiatrist” means a licensed physician who has completed a residency program in psychiatry.

18. “Public treatment facility” means any treatment facility not falling under the definition of a private treatment facility.

19. “Qualified service organization” means a person that provides services to a treatment facility such as data processing, bill collecting, dosage preparation, laboratory analysis, or legal, medical, accounting, or other professional services, and which agrees that in dealing with patient records, that person is bound by the confidentiality restrictions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided for by law.

20. “Respondent” means an individual subject to petition for involuntary treatment.

21. “Serious risk of harm” means a substantial likelihood of:

a. Suicide, as manifested by suicidal threats, attempts, or significant depression relevant to suicidal potential;

b. Killing or inflicting serious bodily harm on another individual or inflicting significant property damage, as manifested by acts or threats;

c. Substantial deterioration in physical health, substantial injury, disease, or death, based upon recent poor self-control or judgment in providing one’s shelter, nutrition, or personal care; or

d. Substantial deterioration in mental health which would predictably result in danger to that individual, others, or property, based upon:

(1) Evidence of objective facts to establish the loss of cognitive or volitional control over the individual’s thoughts or actions; or

(2) Acts or threats; patterns in the individual’s treatment history; the individual’s current condition; and other relevant factors, including the effect of the individual’s mental condition on the individual’s ability to consent.

22. “Substantial likelihood” may take into account an individual’s history and recent behavior.

23. “Superintendent” means the state hospital superintendent or the superintendent’s designee.

24. “Third-party payer” means a person that pays, or agrees to pay, for diagnosis or treatment furnished to a patient on the basis of a contractual relationship with the patient or a member of the patient’s family, or on the basis of the patient’s eligibility for federal, state, or local governmental benefits, and includes any person providing audit or evaluation activities for the third-party payer.

25. “Treatment facility” or “facility” means any hospital, including the state hospital at Jamestown, or any evaluation and treatment facility that provides directly, or by direct arrangement with other public or private agencies, emergency evaluation and treatment, outpatient care, and inpatient care to a person who is mentally ill or a person who has a substance use disorder.