Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-80

Opinion No. 80 Count.y Physician-County Ht'alth Of· ficer- Insanity Hearings-- Compensa· Hon. HELD: The duties of count~' physi- cian or county health officer have nothing to do with the physicians called in lIy the District .Judge. or by the chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. in insanity hearings. A physician called in on such hearings. even though he be the county physician 01' health officer. is entitleel to the com· pensation provided for in Section 1441, R. C. 1\1. 1921. February 15, H)SS. You ha "e requested my opinion as to whether the county physician anel coun- ty health officer, who, in YOUI' ca~e. is one and the same part~·. may mak!' a charge of fiye dollars for mental ex- amination and ten dollars for phy~ical eXHmination of any party who is before the boa I'd of county commISSIOners or the district judge in an insanity hear- ing. Section 4527, R. C. 1\f. 1H21. proyides that a board of county commisRioners may contract for medicine. etc., for thc county poor, and such contract nmy be made with the county physician Hnd cOUlJty health officer. The duties of the count~· health of- ficer are pro"ided for in Hection 247(;. R. C. 1\1. 11)21. as amended hy Chap. 9il, Laws of 11)31, and there is nothinl; in either of these pro"isions of the sta t- utes referring to any duties of the coun- ty phYSician 01' county health officer in regard to insanity hearings. Insan- ity hearings are provided for in Sec- tions 14S1 and 1443, inclu!>i"e, so far as the l)l'o"isions of the statutes relate to the questions you submit. Section 1-WS is as follows: "The judge, or in case of his absence, the chairman of the board of county com- miS!>ioners, must also issuc subpoen!ls for at least two graduates of medicine to appear and attend such examina- tion." Section 1435 is as follows: "Thc physicians must hear such testimony, and must make a personal examination of ·the alleged insane person." Section 1436 relates to the certificatc which should be issued by the examin- OPIXIOXS OF THE ATTORXEY GEXERAL 6; ing physicians. While it does not re- quire a report on the physical cOlHli- tion it does require a rel)Ort of symp- toms. "'e are not sufficiently familiar with the problem to know whether or not a physical examination lllay some- times be necessary in order to deter- mine insanity. but if it is neces~a ry. then we think that it is a part of t,he services cUlIlmanded by Section I-t85 and tha t the fees pl'O\'ided for in Sec- tion I-t41 plus the mileage are all the coml>ensation which the boa I'd is au- thorized to pay. The opinion of this office is that the duties of the county physician 01' coun- t~' health officer have nothilll-: to do with the physicians called in h~' the district judge or the chairman of the hoard of county commissioners in in- sanit.\' hearings and that I)hysicians called in on such hearings are entitled to the compensation pro\'ided for in Section 1441. Whether the particular phYSician called in happened to be the county phySician or county health of- ficer is immaterial.