Health & Saf. Code, § 1259.6

(a) On or before January 1, 2025, a general acute care hospital shall establish and adopt written policies and procedures to screen patients who are 12 years of age and older for purposes of detecting a risk for suicidal ideation and behavior.

(b) The procedures established pursuant to this section shall accomplish all of the following:

(1) Identify, as part of a medical screening, a patient’s risk for suicidal ideation and behavior.

(2) Document in the medical record a patient’s risk for suicidal ideation and behavior.

(3) Provide to a patient who exhibits a sign of a risk for suicidal ideation and behavior a current referral list of private and public community agencies that provide, or arrange for, the evaluation, counseling, and care of persons experiencing a risk of suicidal ideation and behavior, including, but not limited to, hotlines and locally available mental health services.

(4) Designate the licensed staff to be responsible for the implementation of these policies and procedures.

(c) After the adoption of written policies and procedures pursuant to subdivision (a), a general acute care hospital shall routinely screen patients who are 12 years of age and older for a risk of suicidal ideation and behavior in compliance with those policies and procedures.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that a general acute care hospital, for purposes of satisfying the requirements of this section, adopt guidelines similar to the validated or evidence-based screening tools and suicide risk assessment tools recommended by the Joint Commission regarding screening for suicidal ideation and behavior risk and protocols to follow when a patient exhibits a sign of being at imminent risk for suicidal ideation and behavior. The Legislature recognizes that, while guidelines evolve and change, the validated or evidence-based screening tools and suicide risk assessment tools recommended by the Joint Commission may serve, at this time, as a model to follow.