The Akron Legal News

Proposed bill would allow certain psychologists to prescribe drugs in mental health, addiction treatment

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: April 20, 2018

Seventy-two Ohio counties, an area that includes nearly all of the state's correctional facilities and mental hospitals, report a shortage of psychiatrists, according to federal data.

These counties are identified as Mental Health Professional Shortage areas, a designation Republican Reps. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati and Theresa Gavarone of Bowling Green hope to change with a legislative measure that would authorize certain psychologists to prescribe psychotropic and other drugs in the treatment of drug addiction and mental illness.

Filed in the Ohio House of Representatives as House Bill 326, the bill presumably address the shortage and stave off further decline.

"This is a serious issue," Gavarone told fellow House members on the Health Committee.

She cited National Institute of Mental Health figures that showed more than 1.5 million Ohio adults and 300,000 children require some sort of mental health treatment.

"Unfortunately, a third of these adults and half of these children will not receive the help they need, (and) these percentages are even higher for those adults with co-occurring substance use disorders or serious mental illness," she said. "Without care, many will end up in crisis."

HB 326 would allow for a specially trained psychologist to obtain a certificate to prescribe and become credentialed as a prescribing psychologist by the state board of psychology on the basis of several criteria.

These psychologists must be licensed in the state and have earned a doctoral degree, in addition to having completed a Master of Science in Clinical Psychopharmacology degree at an accredited university that includes didactic training in the treatment of women, children, adolescents, ethnic minorities, addictions, geriatrics, chronic disease and pain management.

Other conditions require that the psychologist must:

• Fulfill a yearlong period of clinical supervision under a physician;

• Pass a national exam, the Prescribing Examination for Psychologists, developed and administered by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards; and

• Maintain an ongoing collaborative relationship with a physician.

"Under HB 326, once the individual has completed all the conditions listed to become a prescribing psychologist, they will be required to maintain their certification every two years by submitting to the Ohio Board of Psychology evidence of having completed 24 hours of continuing education specific to psychopharmacology in addition to the current continuing education requirements for psychologists," Seitz noted during sponsor testimony.

He identified four universities offering accredited master's degrees in clinical psychopharmacology - some with distance-learning options - and a nascent program at University of Findlay, which awaits passage of the bill to be begin enrollment.

Psychologists currently are authorized to prescribe psychotropic medications in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, New Mexico and Idaho, as well as in branches of the U.S. military and the U.S. Public Health Service, testimony provided.

"The benefits of allowing psychologists to prescribe medications in cases of mental illness and substance abuse go beyond the issues of merely cutting down the waiting time to see a psychiatrist or the dearth of available psychiatrists in the state," Seitz said. "By nature of their training and experience, psychologists are experts in the integration and provision of non-pharmacological treatments for addiction and mental illness.

"Allowing psychologists to prescribe medications in conjunction with these other modes of treatment offers a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach for cases where this level of care may be needed."

He said, today, most mental health prescriptions are written by already overburdened primary care physicians that lack the extensive specialized training in mental illness and addiction that psychologists have, leaving them ill prepared for the management of difficult cases.

Committee members also considered the testimony of a psychiatrist who supports the measure.

HB 326 has cosponsor support of five fellow House members.

A third hearing had not been scheduled at time of publication.

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