25-03.1-02. Definitions
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. "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.
4. "Court" means, except when otherwise indicated, the district court serving the county
in which the respondent resides.
5. "Department" means the department of health and human services.
6. "Director" means the director of a treatment facility or the director's designee.
7. "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.
8. "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.
9. "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.
10. "Magistrate" means the judge of the appropriate district or juvenile court or a judge
assigned by the presiding judge of the judicial district.
11. "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.
12. "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.
13. "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.
14. "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.
15. "Private treatment facility" means any facility established under chapter 10-19.1 or
10-33 and licensed under chapter 23-16 or 50-31.
16. "Psychiatrist" means a licensed physician who has completed a residency program in
psychiatry.
17. "Public treatment facility" means any treatment facility not falling under the definition of
a private treatment facility.
18. "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.
19. "Respondent" means an individual subject to petition for involuntary treatment.
20. "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.
21. "Substantial likelihood" may take into account an individual's history and recent
behavior.
22. "Superintendent" means the state hospital superintendent or the superintendent's
designee.
23. "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.
24. "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.
