Relating to the requirements for a prescribing psychologist or a psychologist with a conditional prescription certificate

Under current law, to be granted a conditional prescription certificate, an applicant who holds a current license to practice psychology in the state, among other requirements, must within five years immediately preceding the date of application, have both successfully completed a postdoctoral master of science degree in clinical psychopharmacology approved by the board of psychology and the board of medicine, and have been certified by the applicant’s supervising physician as having successfully completed a supervised and relevant clinical experience in clinical assessment and pathophysiology and an additional supervised practicum treating patients with mental disorders. This bill retains both of these requirements but eliminates the condition that these requirements must have been completed within the five years immediately preceding the date of application for a conditional prescription certificate. Current law requires that when prescribing psychotropic medication for a patient, the prescribing psychologist or the psychologist with a conditional prescription certificate shall maintain an ongoing collaborative relationship with the licensed physician in the provision of patient care. The bill instead provides that the ongoing collaborative relationship be with the patient’s primary care provider who oversees the patient’s general medical care, rather than the patient’s licensed physician. The bill also redefines “physician” for the purposes of Code chapter 154B (psychology). Current law defines “physician” to mean a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery in this state who is board-certified in a speciality who prescribes medications for the treatment of a mental disorder. The bill removes the condition that the licensed person also be board-certified in the speciality.