Can you be Baker Acted during a Telehealth consultation?

Hello, everyone. It’s Mark and welcome back. In this video, I want to talk to you about being Baker acted during a telehealth conference.

So, first of all, what is a telehealth conference? So it used to be that if you appeared at a hospital emergency room and there was a psychiatrist on staff. He or she would make a determination. If you met Bakery criteria. And it may be that you went there for medical reasons, it may be that you showed up because you were complaining of anxiety and depression and things of that nature which post covert and even during COVID was something that we saw a lot of. And it used to be that whoever. The psychiatrist was who was on duty or on call at the hospital, that. Person would sit with you supposedly for a significant period of time so they could make a determination if you really met Baker at criteria.

So starting through COVID, the norm became this telehealth conferences. And what is that? Well, that’s sort of like you’re seeing. Now where you’re looking at me through. A computer screen, a laptop or even a smartphone or an iPad or something like that, and that’s sort of become the norm now.

And what happens if you are placed in front of a screen or computer screen with a camera, and then the psychiatrist sits and talk to you.

And during that conversation makes a determination or supposed to make a determination if you meet criteria to be detained under the Bakery Act. But what’s been happening is the psychiatrists are sort of using the telehealth mechanism or procedure.

They speak to you for a couple of minutes, and then what appears to happen is rather than make a determination. If you meet criteria, they use the time that they’re with you to basically tell you you’re not going anywhere. You’re going to be detained by the hospital. And at some point, you may or may not be transferred to either the behavioral health unit within the hospital or if they don’t have one, or if there isn’t enough room, you’re going to be transferred to another facility. So, yeah, you can be Baker active during a telehealth conference, and we’re seeing a lot more of that. It doesn’t require an in person, face to face contact with a psychiatrist.

So anyway, if you have questions about the Baker Act or if you’ve got a loved one who has been detained and you want to talk to us about securing the release to reach out to us.

Thanks for tuning in. See in the next video. Bye.