(a) Orders for restraint or seclusion must be by a physician, or other licensed practitioner permitted by the State and the facility to order restraint or seclusion and trained in the use of emergency safety interventions. Federal regulations at 42 CFR 441.151 require that inpatient psychiatric services for beneficiaries under age 21 be provided under the direction of a physician.

(b) If the resident's treatment team physician is available, only he or she can order restraint or seclusion.

(c) A physician or other licensed practitioner permitted by the state and the facility to order restraint or seclusion must order the least restrictive emergency safety intervention that is most likely to be effective in resolving the emergency safety situation based on consultation with staff.

(d) If the order for restraint or seclusion is verbal, the verbal order must be received by a registered nurse or other licensed staff such as a licensed practical nurse, while the emergency safety intervention is being initiated by staff or immediately after the emergency safety situation ends. The physician or other licensed practitioner permitted by the state and the facility to order restraint or seclusion must verify the verbal order in a signed written form in the resident's record. The physician or other licensed practitioner permitted by the state and the facility to order restraint or seclusion must be available to staff for consultation, at least by telephone, throughout the period of the emergency safety intervention.

(e) Each order for restraint or seclusion must:

(1) Be limited to no longer than the duration of the emergency safety situation; and

(2) Under no circumstances exceed 4 hours for residents ages 18 to 21; 2 hours for residents ages 9 to 17; or 1 hour for residents under age 9.

(f) Within 1 hour of the initiation of the emergency safety intervention a physician, or other licensed practitioner trained in the use of emergency safety interventions and permitted by the state and the facility to assess the physical and psychological well being of residents, must conduct a face-to-face assessment of the physical and psychological well being of the resident, including but not limited to—

(1) The resident's physical and psychological status;

(2) The resident's behavior;

(3) The appropriateness of the intervention measures; and

(4) Any complications resulting from the intervention.

(g) Each order for restraint or seclusion must include—

(1) The name of the ordering physician or other licensed practitioner permitted by the state and the facility to order restraint or seclusion;

(2) The date and time the order was obtained; and

(3) The emergency safety intervention ordered, including the length of time for which the physician or other licensed practitioner permitted by the state and the facility to order restraint or seclusion authorized its use.

(h) Staff must document the intervention in the resident's record. That documentation must be completed by the end of the shift in which the intervention occurs. If the intervention does not end during the shift in which it began, documentation must be completed during the shift in which it ends. Documentation must include all of the following:

(1) Each order for restraint or seclusion as required in paragraph (g) of this section.

(2) The time the emergency safety intervention actually began and ended.

(3) The time and results of the 1-hour assessment required in paragraph (f) of this section.

(4) The emergency safety situation that required the resident to be restrained or put in seclusion.

(5) The name of staff involved in the emergency safety intervention.

(i) The facility must maintain a record of each emergency safety situation, the interventions used, and their outcomes.

(j) The physician or other licensed practitioner permitted by the state and the facility to order restraint or seclusion must sign the restraint or seclusion order in the resident's record as soon as possible.

[66 FR 7161, Jan. 22, 2001, as amended at 66 FR 28116, May 22, 2001]