Relating to the authority of a peace officer to apprehend a person for emergency detention and of certain facilities and physicians to temporarily detain a person with mental illness.

HB 1538 allows physicians at designated mental health facilities, hospitals, and emergency departments to temporarily detain patients with mental illness who are at risk of leaving before treatment and pose a substantial risk of serious harm to themselves or others. The facility must adopt a written policy requiring the patient to be notified of the detention and the physician to document the decision in the medical record. This temporary detention is permitted only when there isn't enough time to file for standard emergency detention through the courts. The bill does not apply to patients already transported to the facility for emergency detention under existing procedures.