Ann Kasper, MA, PSS, an activist with MindFreedom Oregon, sent us information about an important bill under consideration called Senate Bill 686 (SB686) for the 2021 State or Oregon legislative session. The bill states that anyone who is in a locked psychiatric facility in Oregon (such as a psychiatric hospital unit or secure psychiatric housing) has the choice to get psychiatric and/or prescriber care from a doctor or prescriber, and not only a person who is seen on a screen. Anne put together the following talking points below followed by MFI’s recommended actions.
Please act today to create more choices in the mental health system!
The bill text is in English and Spanish with updates at www.choiceheals.com
Choice heals. This is civil rights.
This petition will be presented at the State of Oregon State Senate Committee on Human Services, Mental Health and Recovery next Tuesday, 3/23/21. The meeting starts at 3:15 p.m. PDT. SB686 is scheduled after one other bill.
To view a live stream of the meeting:
To sign up for written testimony: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Testimony/SHSMHR
To sign up to share your testimony at the committee – Register online: https://survey.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3IQZmsE1aLFvzw2
To register by phone: 833-588-4500 (U.S. toll free). You will be given a phone
number to call into the meeting.
Who does this affect? Locked psychiatric institutions (hospitals and secure units known as STRFs in OR) which only offer psychiatric medication prescribing by telehealth to patients.
Talking Points When Testifying or Contacting your Senator
Telehealth in this case means that the psychiatric patient in a facility with the doors locked communicates only with the prescriber only over a video screen, not in person. The bill states that the facility must offer an in-person prescriber if the patient chooses that over telehealth.
It gives psychiatric patients the power of choice in cases where telehealth only is currently offered.
This bill does not state that an institution must offer telehealth. This bill is only written to address the services of psychiatric medication prescribing only, and does not change the modes of other services that may be offer to people who are in inpatient settings such as peer support or physical body healthcare.
Why is this legislative bill needed? Because some psychiatric institutions in Oregon currently offer only telehealth psychiatry/prescribing which is seeing a doctor on a screen. There can be many problems with this including:
1. many of these telehealth practioners (doctors, psychiatrists and others who prescribe in Oregon giving care in the units over video) are not in Oregon,
2. these doctors can have decisions about a patients civil rights and liberties up to 180 days without seeing the patients in person,
3. there is no privacy between practioner and patient in these sessions as there is always another staff member present to watch the computers and these doctors do not know what the current inpatient situation or milieu (locked psychiatric setting) is like,
4. these doctors are not available after the short telehealth sessions and cannot correct mistakes in orders,
5. the doctors cannot see all physical side effect such as legs shaking and there is no chance for continuing care,
6. these doctors have no connection or communication is support people like family and natural supports in Oregon,
7. these doctors who are only on a screen can be scary for people in extreme states or who are very sensitive at that point, and patients will not give truthful answers due to not having trust of a person on a screen, and
8. many facilities do not have good wifi access and were built without telehealth in mind which results in some prescribers are hard to hear and see.
Patient choice heals.
Patient choice is important as inpatient or in facility telehealth could be beneficial for people. Some positives of telehealth include:
1. chance for language and culturally appropriate care, (For example, if there is a patient from Somalia who needs a Somali-speaking psychiatrist, and there are no Somali psychiatrists in Oregon, telehealth could be way to get appropriate and responsive care.)
2. opportunity for non-biased care and a fresh perspective, (This pertains to some patients who repeatedly end up in psychiatric units and medical personnel might be weary of seeing them again and might not offer the best care due to preconceived ideas of these patients from past experiences.)
Please see more information and the bill text in English and Spanish at www.choiceheals.com
We will bring this list of petition signers to the State of Oregon State Committee on Human Services, Mental Health and Recovery, headed by Senator Gelser.
We will be able to add official testimony and emails of support for the bill once it is scheduled to be heard in committee.
Please send personal emails and stories of the importance of choice of mental health care and to the legislators on that committee. Their information is here:
Thank you so much for your support!
After meeting with the top officials in rural hospitals last week, we are working on amendments that will allow rural hospitals to apply for exemptions if they demonstrate they cannot hire any psychiatrist and/or prescriber in the close proximity of their facility.
We are a small group of concerned citizens who created with and are promoting without any funding. We know from personal experience that choice heals in mental health care. Mental health recovery is possible. It is the opportunity of the people in mental health crisis to heal themselves, and when our natural supports, friends, families, and institutions give us the right support, safe spaces, and effective mental health healing skills and tools, we heal.
This petition will be presented at the State of Oregon State Senate Committee on Human Services, Mental Health and Recovery next Tuesday, 3/23/21. The meeting starts at 3:15 p.m. PDT. SB686 is scheduled after one other bill.
To view a live stream of the meeting:
Ann Kasper, MA, PSS
Using the Bullet Points Provided Above….
Actions to Take
1) Contact your Senator. Find Your Senator HERE
2) Sign up to Testify at Senate Hearing on Tuesday, March 23.
To sign up for written testimony: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Testimony/SHSMHR
To sign up to share your testimony at the committee – Register online: https://survey.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3IQZmsE1aLFvzw2
To register by phone: 833-588-4500 (U.S. toll free). You will be given a phone
number to call into the meeting.
4) Alert the Media
Write a letter to the Oregonian HERE
Register-Guard Email 200 words or fewer to rgletters@registerguard.com. Include your full name, mailing address and phone number for purposes of verification. If accepted, only your name and city will be published.