- Last edited on January 3, 2023
Form 3 (Ontario - Involuntary Admission)
Primer
A Form 3 (Certificate of Involuntary Admission) under the Ontario Mental Health Act is a form filled out when a patient meets criteria for an involuntary admission under either Box A, or Box B criteria. A Form 3 lasts 2 weeks.
Download Form 3
Tips
Example
The date the Form 3 expires is always 13 days later (or “two weeks minus a day”), and not 14 days, because you always include the day the Form was filled.- Date Form 3 filled: January 1
- Date Form 3 expires: January 14
You cannot sign a Form 1 and a Form 3 for the same patient!
If you are the physician who signed the Form 1, you cannot sign a Form 3. It must be a different MD, who makes a separate assessment to determine the involuntary admission. This allows the patient to have a second opinion assessment.The Form 3 Only Allows for Detention, Not Treatment
The Form 3 only allows for the physical detention of an individual. It does not allow you to force treatment without a patient's consent. Only emergency treatment is allowed in the event of significant risk for morbidity or mortality. Therefore, if there is no emergency and a patient refuses treatment, you must respect the wishes of the patient even if they are on a Form 3.A patient can be in a situation where they detained on a Form 3, but found to be capable. If found capable by the consent and capacity board, a patient has a right to refuse treatment. Under that circumstance, only a finding of incapacity under the Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) would allow you to treat the patient. As an example, a patient with schizophrenia can be detained under a Form 3 for risk of serious physical impairment, but still be capable to make a decision to refuse an antipsychotic.