Credit Elise Amendola / AP
/
AP
In this June 15, 2018 photo, pharmaceuticals are seen in North Andover, Mass.
A new bill would allow psychologists in Florida to prescribe medication. If passed, Florida would be the sixth state to make the change.
Only psychiatrists, who train as medical doctors, currently have the power to prescribe medication in Florida.
Psychologists graduate with a PhD, and study human behavior.
A bill filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) would give psychologists prescription power as well.
“There’s just a huge need for people who can prescribe effectively,” said Andrew Hicks, legislative chair of the Florida Psychological Association. “And it also would allow psychologists to be able to help those patients who need to get off medication, or who need a combined therapy of psychotherapy and medication management.”
Hicks says by 2025 there will be a greater shortage of psychiatrists than any other medical specialty.
Most professionals will not elect take advantage of the new prescription powers. Hicks describes it as another subfield, like forensic psychology or develomental psychology, that requires specialized training.
To qualify, licensed psychologists would have to take a two-year psychopharmacology course, complete clinical hours and pass an exam.
The American Psychological Association has praised the passage of similar efforts in Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico and Louisiana.
Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU. 9(MDAyNDY5MjM1MDEyODE2MzMyMTZmZDQwMg001))
Among a bevy of bills filed Friday, Sen. Jeff Brandes drafted legislation that would allow qualifying psychologists to prescribe medication to patients, including controlled substances.
The bill (SB 160) would require the Board of Psychology to “develop and implement procedures to review education and training requirements for certification” to prescribe medications and to “adopt tulles to deny, modify, suspend, or revoke prescriptive authority certification.”
“The board may require remediation by a prescribing psychologist to correct deficiencies in his or her training or practice upon the board’s determination that such deficiencies could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the public,” the bill reads.
To become certified, psychologists would have to be currently licensed, have a doctoral degree in psychology, receive a passing score on a nationally recognize psychology exam and meet American Psychological Association education requirements. Psychologists would also have to complete the U.S. Department of Defense Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project.
Each applicant would also have to satisfactorily complete 20 hours of continuing education relevant to prescribing medications.
Once certified, the prescribing psychologist would be required to maintain a record of all patient prescription and consult and collaborate with the patient’s primary care physician. They would not be allowed delegate prescriptive authority to another person working in their practice not certified to prescribe medications.
Certified psychologists could also not prescribe medications to a patient who does not have a primary are physician.
Under the bill, the Board of Psychology would be required to transmit a list of prescribing psychologists to the Board of Pharmacy including the psychologist’s name, certification number and the effective date of their prescribing authority.
The Board of Psychology would also be tasked with establishing an interim panel by Oct. 1, 2021 tasked with providing recommendations for proposed rules governing prescriptive authority.
The panel would consist of a licensed psychiatrist, a pediatrician selected by the Board of Medicine, a pharmacist selected by the Board of Pharmacy and two psychologists who hold postdoctoral master’s degrees in clinical psychopharmacology. The panel would be required to submit its recommendations to the Board of Psychology by Feb. 1, 2022.
The bill does not yet have a House companion. If approved, it would take effect July 1, 2021.
Credit Elise Amendola / AP
/
AP
In this June 15, 2018 photo, pharmaceuticals are seen in North Andover, Mass.
A new bill would allow psychologists in Florida to prescribe medication. If passed, Florida would be the sixth state to make the change.
Only psychiatrists, who train as medical doctors, currently have the power to prescribe medication in Florida.
Psychologists graduate with a PhD, and study human behavior.
A bill filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) would give psychologists prescription power as well.
“There’s just a huge need for people who can prescribe effectively,” said Andrew Hicks, legislative chair of the Florida Psychological Association. “And it also would allow psychologists to be able to help those patients who need to get off medication, or who need a combined therapy of psychotherapy and medication management.”
Hicks says by 2025 there will be a greater shortage of psychiatrists than any other medical specialty.
Most professionals will not elect take advantage of the new prescription powers. Hicks describes it as another subfield, like forensic psychology or develomental psychology, that requires specialized training.
To qualify, licensed psychologists would have to take a two-year psychopharmacology course, complete clinical hours and pass an exam.
The American Psychological Association has praised the passage of similar efforts in Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico and Louisiana.
Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU. 9(MDAyNDY5ODMwMDEyMjg3NjMzMTE1ZjE2MA001))
In the vast majority of cases, psychologists cannot prescribe medications to their patients. However, there has been a recent push in several states to grant psychologists prescribing privileges, and there are actually already a few places where psychologists do have prescribing privileges.
Where Can Psychologists Prescribe Medications?
Psychologists are able to prescribe medications anywhere in the military and the Indian Health Service if they are credentialed in Louisiana or New Mexico. Psychologists can prescribe in five states: Louisiana, New Mexico, Illinois, Iowa, and Idaho.
Professional psychologists gained prescribing privileges in New Mexico in 2002 and in Louisiana in 2004. In 2014, Illinois became the third state to grant prescribing powers to psychologists who hold appropriate training. Iowa granted prescriptive authority to psychologists in 2016, and Idaho followed suit in 2017.
In such cases, psychologists are required to receive proper training and are permitted to prescribe certain medicines used in the treatment of mental disorders.
What Training Do Prescribing Psychologists Have?
What kind of training is needed? In Louisiana, for example, psychologists who want to gain prescribing powers must complete a postdoctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology, pass a board-recognized national exam, and hold a certificate of responsibility from the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
- In Louisiana: Psychologists must first complete a postdoctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology before they can prescribe medications.
- In New Mexico: Psychologists must complete 450 hours of didactic training and 400 hours of supervised practice in psychopharmacology.
- In Illinois: Psychologists must receive specialized training in psychopharmacology. In addition to this training, they must complete a supervised clinical rotation that lasts 14 months and covers a variety of settings including hospitals, prisons, and mental health clinics.
- In Iowa: Psychologists must complete a postdoctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology. They also need relevant clinical experience in assessment and pathophysiology.
- In Idaho: Psychologists need a postdoctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology. There are no specific hourly requirements for training.
Psychologists are not the only non-physicians who have been granted prescribing rights. Advanced psychiatric nurses generally have prescriptive authority, although their powers may be limited depending on which state they are in.
Arguments for Prescribing Privileges
Supporters of prescribing rights for psychologists include the National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers and Division 55 of the American Psychological Association. Advocates suggest that psychologists should be allowed to write prescriptions for a number of different reasons.
On average, 30% of a primary care physician’s caseload consists of people with psychiatric conditions. Primary care physicians prescribe psychiatric medication for an average of 70% of their mental health patients, even though they often have limited training and experience with mental illness. Proponents suggest that many people would be better served by a psychologist who can also utilize other treatment strategies outside of pharmacological interventions.
Some other reasons cited by supporters include:
- Increase accessibility to mental health care
- Allow patients faster access to treatments
- Help rural patients access treatments more readily
- Decrease wait time for treatments; many states face a shortage of psychiatrists, making it difficult for clients to access mental health care in a timely manner.
Arguments Against Prescribing Privileges
Organizations against offering prescribing rights to psychologists include the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Opponents cite a number of reasons why psychologists should not be able to write prescriptions, including:
- Insufficient training in medicine and pharmacology.
- Risks of side effects of medications.
- Danger of overlooking medical disorders that might be mistaken for mental disorders.
- Many patients prescribed psychotropic medications also have one or more coexisting medical conditions.
- Physicians and psychiatrists are better trained to determine when and if medications are needed.
