What is a physician emergency certificate?

A Physician Emergency Certificate, or PEC, is a certificate that is completed by a licensed medical physician on a patient that is experiencing problems with unsafe behaviors or thoughts such as suicidal or homocidal ideation. In other Words, it is a certificate that the doctor completes in an emergency situation that requires a patient to be assessed by a hospital.

Different states have different laws. I am most familiar with the mental health laws in the state of Louisiana. In Louisiana, if you have a loved one or friend who is homocidal, suicidal or gravely disabled, you could take the patient to the physician's office or to an emergency room to be seen by the doctor. If the doctor is able to gather enough evidence to warrant the patient being assessed fully in a safe environment (hospital), the physician would complete and sign a PEC. This PEC allows the patient to be placed into a psychiatric hospital setting against his/her will (if they refuse to go in voluntarily) for at least 72 hours. This 72 hour span allows for the psychiatrist to examine the patient and determine if the patient needs to continue receiving treatment in a safe environment or if they can safely be discharged back to home.

In order for a patient in Louisiana to be kept for more than 72 hours against their will, the following must occur:

PEC - Phsycian Emergency Certificate - completed by physician (psychiatrist or medical doctor), plus...

CEC - Coroner's Emergency Certificate - completed by the coroner. A CEC is very similar to a PEC except it is completed by the coroner.

Once these two certificates are in place, the patient could legally be held in a psychiatiric hospital for up to 15 days against their will so that treatment with medication and counseling can be administered.