A. Incidents.
- (1) Any visitor behavior that leads to removal of the visitor from the premises shall be documented.
- (2) Any incident that requires police intervention shall be reported and documented in accordance with facility procedures.
- (3) Whenever a visitor is removed from the facility as a result of their disorderly manner, the treatment team shall review the incident and determine what restrictions, if any, shall be placed on the individual's future visiting privileges.
- (4) If restrictions are placed on an individual's future visiting privileges, the restrictions shall be subject to the requirements identified in Regulation .08B of this chapter.
B. Patient Restriction.
- (1) Visitation shall be restricted only for a medically justified reason, and may not be used as a means of punishment.
(2) The physician's order restricting patient visitation rights shall:
- (a) Be written as an order in the patient's permanent record;
- (b) Be subject to ongoing review;
- (c) Automatically expire after 30 calendar days; and
- (d) Be rewritten, if necessary, subject to the provisions of this subsection.
- (3) The rationale for the restriction shall be noted in the patient's permanent record and signed by the physician.
- (4) Restrictions shall be documented in the patient's individualized treatment plan as defined in COMAR 10.21.03.
- (5) A member of the treatment team shall inform the patient in a timely fashion of the restriction, its rationale, and the length of time the restriction is in effect.
- (6) With the consent of the patient, visitors shall be informed by the facility's Clinical Director, or the Clinical Director's designee, that a patient's visits are restricted and the length of time that the restriction is in effect.
- (7) Upon request and with the consent of the patient, a visitor shall receive written notification of the restriction or restrictions.
Authority: Health-General Article, §§10-101(e) and 10-703, Annotated Code of Maryland
Effective date: January 8, 1990 (16:26 Md. R. 2793)