Hawaii RxP bill status

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PublicHealth

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Source: http://www.hawaiipsych.org/legislative/index.html

Bill Status
HB2589 HD1
Generated on 2/20/2006 6:46:22 PM
Measure Title: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.
Report Title: Psychologists; Prescriptive Authority
Description: Establishes conditional prescriptive certificates that authorizes qualified psychologists practicing at federally qualified health centers or health clinics located in a medically underserved area or a mental health professional shortage area to prescribe psychotropic medications. Establishes prescriptive certificates. (HB2589 HD1)
Package: None
Companion:
Introducer(s): GREEN, ARAKAKI, HERKES, SONSON, Luke, Takumi, Tsuji
Current Referral: HLT, CPC

Date Status Text
1/24/2006 H Pending introduction.
1/25/2006 H Introduced and Pass First Reading.
1/27/2006 H Referred to HLT, CPC, referral sheet 5
2/4/2006 H Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Wednesday, 02-08-06 at 6:00 pm in House conference room 325.
2/9/2006 H The committees on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Arakaki, Green, Hale; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Cabanilla; 0 Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Nishimoto, Sonson, Halford.
2/15/2006 H Reported from the committee on HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 409-06) as amended in (HD 1), recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to the committee on CPC.
2/16/2006 H Passed Second Reading as amended in (HD 1) and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with Representative(s) Stevens, Stonebraker, Thielen voting no (3) and Representative(s) Kahikina excused (1).
2/17/2006 H Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Wednesday, 02-22-06 at 2:00 pm in House conference room 325.

$ = Appropriation measure
ConAm = Constitutional Amendment

Members don't see this ad.
 
PublicHealth said:
Source: http://www.hawaiipsych.org/legislative/index.html

Bill Status
HB2589 HD1
Generated on 2/20/2006 6:46:22 PM
Measure Title: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.
Report Title: Psychologists; Prescriptive Authority
Description: Establishes conditional prescriptive certificates that authorizes qualified psychologists practicing at federally qualified health centers or health clinics located in a medically underserved area or a mental health professional shortage area to prescribe psychotropic medications. Establishes prescriptive certificates. (HB2589 HD1)
Package: None
Companion:
Introducer(s): GREEN, ARAKAKI, HERKES, SONSON, Luke, Takumi, Tsuji
Current Referral: HLT, CPC

Date Status Text
1/24/2006 H Pending introduction.
1/25/2006 H Introduced and Pass First Reading.
1/27/2006 H Referred to HLT, CPC, referral sheet 5
2/4/2006 H Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Wednesday, 02-08-06 at 6:00 pm in House conference room 325.
2/9/2006 H The committees on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Arakaki, Green, Hale; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Cabanilla; 0 Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Nishimoto, Sonson, Halford.
2/15/2006 H Reported from the committee on HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 409-06) as amended in (HD 1), recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to the committee on CPC.
2/16/2006 H Passed Second Reading as amended in (HD 1) and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with Representative(s) Stevens, Stonebraker, Thielen voting no (3) and Representative(s) Kahikina excused (1).
2/17/2006 H Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Wednesday, 02-22-06 at 2:00 pm in House conference room 325.

$ = Appropriation measure
ConAm = Constitutional Amendment

When will we know the outcome?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I think because Hi is many hours behind the mainland USA, we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. However, the combined facts that Blue Cross is supporting it, that the bill almost passed last year (a one vote miss), and that the state psychological association is very active all points toward a this-year victory.

Also, the fact that >1100 prescriptions have been written by medical psychologists without incident is very powerful testimony as to the strength of the prescribing psychology psychopharm curriculum
 
edieb said:
I think because Hi is many hours behind the mainland USA, we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. However, the combined facts that Blue Cross is supporting it, that the bill almost passed last year (a one vote miss), and that the state psychological association is very active all points toward a this-year victory.

Also, the fact that >1100 prescriptions have been written by medical psychologists without incident is very powerful testimony as to the strength of the prescribing psychology psychopharm curriculum

No love on the PM? :(
 
Lazy politicians. :sleep:
 
2/22/2006 H The committee(s) recommends that the measure be deferred until 03-01-06.
 
Drum roll please.....

2/24/2006 H Bill scheduled for decision making on Wednesday, 03-01-06 at 2:00 pm in conference room 325.
 
PublicHealth said:
Drum roll please.....

2/24/2006 H Bill scheduled for decision making on Wednesday, 03-01-06 at 2:00 pm in conference room 325.


Heres hoping the courts make the right decision.
 
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Current time Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 1:19:41 PM

40 more minutes!
 
I'm sure it'll take some time for the final decision to ripple through the Internet.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
The website. Passed 7yea, 1 nay, 3 abstained, with minor revisions basically stating that this law does not equal the practice of medicine for psychologists. Sort weird but makes sense.
 
I am a little confused -- the law passed the Senate but still has to be signed by the governor there, right? If that's correct, is he expected to sign the law? It is kind of odd that we haven't heard anything about the other states that have intro'd legislation (e.g., TN, GA, MI, etc.).
 
edieb said:
I am a little confused -- the law passed the Senate but still has to be signed by the governor there, right? If that's correct, is he expected to sign the law? It is kind of odd that we haven't heard anything about the other states that have intro'd legislation (e.g., TN, GA, MI, etc.).

Hearing dates and legislative processes (e.g., subcommittee referrals, readings, etc) differ from state to state. It's a long and ugly process that involves a great deal of bill punting from subcommittee to subcommittee and hearing to hearing. Further, psychologists in many states have kept quiet regarding their legislative plans in order to slip in their bill before psychiatry can organize an oppositional effort.

Anyone have any information on other states pursuing RxP this session?
 
Was the RxP bill passed? Is Hawaii now part of the NM, LA group?
From what I understand it was passed by a committee; doesn't it still need to go to both chambers and be signed by the governor before RxP law is ennacted?
 
sasevan said:
Was the RxP bill passed? Is Hawaii now part of the NM, LA group?
From what I understand it was passed by a committee; doesn't it still need to go to both chambers and be signed by the governor before RxP law is ennacted?

That's what I think. Is anyone on the Division 55 listserv? I'm sure updates are posted there. The RxP bill in Hawaii was supported by a number of MD directors of community health centers who are desperate to get RxP services to their psychiatric patients. The "fly-in" psychiatrists apparently are not enough. Pat DeLeon's letter (somewhere in this forum, I'm too lazy to find it) sounded VERY optimistic. It seems like this bill will pass.

I've heard from Bob McGrath, President of Division 55, that TN, GA, and MO have very active legislative efforts and may get their bills passed soon. How soon it not clear, but TN was tied in the Senate last year. Mental healthcare there is awful.
 
jaysavesavve

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A MATURING PROFESSION ENTERS THE 21st CENTURY
The Prescriptive Authority Agenda Matures: In our last
column we reported on the progress of the Hawaii Psychological
Association (HPA) in seeking prescriptive authority (RxP) for their
colleagues working within federally qualified community health
centers. During the previous session of the Hawaii legislature, HPA
was successful in having the legislature enact House Concurrent
Resolution 255 which established a six person Interim Task Force On
The Accessibility Of Mental Health Care To Consider The Feasibility
Of The State Authorizing Trained and Supervised Psychologists To
Safely Prescribe Psychotropic Medications For The Treatment Of Mental
Illness. Native Hawaiian psychologist Jill Oliveira-Berry and former
HPA President Ray Folen represented psychology on the task force.
“Prescriptive authority is only meaningful in appropriate context,
and the primary care psychology model is one that makes the most
sense to us. Primary care psychologists work in a primary care
clinic. They provide traditional behavioral health services (e.g.,
treatment of depression, anxiety, substance abuse), as well as more
specialized behavioral medicine services (e.g., treatment of obesity,
high blood pressure, diabetes, headache). In our experience, family
practitioners welcome psychologists in their clinics. These
psychologists not only provide an opportunity for the immediate
referral of the distressed patient, but also provide truly
comprehensive treatment in the primary care environment.
 
The
patients welcome the seamless continuity of their overall health care
and appreciate the lack of stigma that has been historically
associated with behavioral health care.” Jill and another community
health center colleague, Robin Miyamoto, have taken the lead
legislatively, with the enthusiastic support of every one of the
health center medical directors. “The Hawaii RxP bill has now been
introduced for the 2006 legislative session. We have just been
informed that our first hearing in the House is set for Wednesday,
February 8th. This year looks particularly promising with the amount
of support we have in the House. We have seven signatures as
introducers and co-introducers on the bill which is another first in
our RxP history. Our prime supporter in the House is a practicing
primary care physician with considerable community health center
experience, not to mention having served as a volunteer physician in
South Africa during the AIDS and malaria epidemic of the ‘90s.”
“House Concurrent Resolution 255 was enacted as a result of
collaborative efforts by HPA, the Hawaii Primary Care Association,
community health centers (CHCs), Native Hawaiian Health Systems, and
other groups that supported increased access to health care for the
underserved and unserved peoples of Hawaii. The mandated Task Force,
comprised of two legislators, two psychologists, and two
psychiatrists, met four times over the last three months of 2005.
Key objectives included: 1) An exploration of access to mental
healthcare in Hawaii, particularly in rural areas of the islands; and
2) Proposed models from both the Hawaii Psychiatric Medical
Association and HPA to enhance services, especially for the
identified areas and patient populations that experience significant
barriers to mental healthcare access (i.e., primary care patient
populations, the uninsured, rural communities, etc.).
“It was clear from the outset that the mental health needs
of Hawaii’s rural, poor, and underserved areas are severe and that
the last two decades have not seen an appreciable change in this
condition. Consensus was reached that there are not enough licensed
mental health care providers who can prescribe to fill the need that
exists. It was also evident that despite promises made over the last
20 years, psychiatry has been unable to meet the need for
psychoactive medications, which all recognized is at times a critical
component in mental health care.
“Psychiatry offered their ideas for models to enhance
service delivery. They promised to expand their residency training
program. Sadly, they barely have enough applicants to fill current
positions; in fact, about 40% of all U.S. psychiatry residency
positions are filled by foreign applicants. They also proposed ‘soon
to be established’ telepsychiatry consultations with primary care
docs in rural locations. The primary care physicians quickly
rejected that option, though, as they barely have time to see the
multitude of patients lined up in their waiting rooms, let alone take
time to dial up a psychiatrist for an extended mental health
consultation. The final option psychiatry proposed was to increase
the number of J-1 visa (foreign) psychiatry residents.
Unfortunately, the cultural and language problems associated with
these foreign doctors in Hawaii’s rural areas are perceived as
potentially significant impediments to effective treatment.
“An examination of the promises made by psychiatry to serve
the rural and medically-underutilized areas over the last 20 years
was particularly illuminating. We found that the number of
psychiatrists serving Hawaii CHCs has not changed in decades. In
2004, there were psychiatrists serving three of the CHCs despite the
overwhelming need for behavioral health services in all 13 centers.
By contrast, in the four years that Hawaii psychologists have been
involved in this primary care initiative, psychologists are now
employed and/or contracted to provide behavioral health services in
nine of the 13 CHCs on O’ahu, Kaua’i, Moloka’i, Maui, and the Big
Island. All of these psychologists have been trained to provide
culturally-appropriate psychological services as well as
psychopharmacological consultation.
 
“At the third meeting of the task force, the psychiatrists
offered an alternative to their decades-old argument that: ‘we have
to go to medical school’ to prescribe. That alternative was medical
training equivalent to that received by nurses or optometrists.
Interestingly, the psychiatrists’ willingness to discuss this
alternative deteriorated almost from the minute it was proposed and,
by the start of the fourth and last meeting, they had retreated back
to their original ‘medical school only’ position.
“The task force psychologists offered an alternative. In
addition to the 7-8 years of training required to receive the
doctoral degree, we proposed that primary care psychologists meet the
psychopharmacology certification requirements by completing: * 500
hours of didactic training in clinical psychopharmacology and related
courses; this significantly exceeds psychiatry’s 50 lecture (yes,
only 50 one-hour lectures!) Model Psychopharmacology Curriculum for
Psychiatric Residency Programs recommended by the American Society of
Clinical Psychopharmacology; * a year-long, 100 patient practicum,
100% supervised by a physician; * a two-year conditional prescribing
period during which the psychologist must have concurrence by a
supervising physician for every prescription written; And, * passage
of the APA National Psychopharmacology Examination for Psychologists.
“Given that: * CHCs and other primary care settings serve as
a ‘de facto’ mental health care system, non-psychiatric physicians
prescribe 85% of the psychotropic medications despite their lack of
training in this complex area; * CHC medical directors have observed
first hand the work of psychologists working in their primary care
settings and have endorsed legislative proposals for prescriptive
authority for psychologists; * RxP for psychologists is a no-cost
solution for the State of Hawaii as: a) the costs of additional
training are borne by the psychologist; b) the costs to employ
prescribing psychologists in the CHCs are more than covered by the
Federal support under Section 330(e) of the U.S. Public Health
Service Act; and c) CHC-employed psychologists are deemed ‘federal
employees’ for the purpose of medical malpractice protection, the
psychologists on the task force recommended that the legislature
authorize appropriately trained psychologists, who have a
professional affiliation with a Federally Qualified Community Health
Center, to prescribe psychoactive medications. We also advised the
legislature that we were open to any reasonable compromise.”
I recently had the opportunity of participating in a most
impressive HPA Primary Care Institute, which was co-sponsored by the
Hawaii Primary Care Association. Former HPA President Kate Brown did
a truly outstanding job of crystalizing for the audience the
importance of psychology being actively engaged in providing primary
healthcare as we collectively address the challenges (and
opportunities) of the 21st century.
 
Thanks, edie. Any new information?

I'm patiently awaiting your reply to my e-mail! ;)
 
From what I can tell, it has passed the actual Sentate, not just a committee.
 
edieb said:
From what I can tell, it has passed the actual Sentate, not just a committee.
Jeff Matranga


Government News

AMA Forms Coalition to Thwart Non-M.D. Practice Expansion

Rich Daly

Members of a new medical partnership plan to share expertise and
resources in turning the tide against expansions in nonphysician health
professionals' scope of practice.

In an effort to marshal the medical community's resources against the
growing threat of expanding scope of practice for allied health
professionals, the AMA has formed a national partnership to confront
such initiatives nationwide.

The AMA Scope of Practice Steering Committee, formed at the urging of
APA, will coordinate research to help medical specialty societies and
state medical associations fight expansions in nonmedical scope of
practice and improve information sharing among those groups.

The strength of the approach lies in the breadth of its membership,
which will feed information on local legislative developments into the
partnership so all of the members will know what legislative strategies
allied health professionals are using nationally, according to Michael
Maves, M.D., executive vice president and CEO of the AMA.

The committee will use $25,000 annual contributions from its initial
members to fund research that helps refute the key arguments allied
health professionals use to advance their measures in state
legislatures. Initial research will accumulate national data on
differences in training and education between physicians and other
medical professionals and track the geographic distribution of such
professions. Advocates of scope-of-practice expansion often mitigate
differences between allied health professionals and physicians and claim
such legislation is needed to improve health care access in areas
underserved by physicians.

The partnership also will fund campaigns to stop scope-of-practice
legislation in states where such bills appear likely to advance.

Issues surrounding prescriptive authority will be a major focus for the
partnership, which was formed in part at the urging of APA Medical
Director James H. Scully Jr., M.D. APA has helped lead physicians into
the scope-of-practice fight following the enactment of laws in Louisiana
and New Mexico that allow psychologists to write prescriptions.

"These are issues that go beyond any one specialty," Scully said. Every
medical specialty has concerns with a group of allied health
professionals seeking privileges generally reserved for physicians.

The group will undertake projects focusing on the identification of what
constitutes adequate training and establish relationships with all of
the state medical boards and associations, Scully said. That
coordination will help clarify the message to state legislators that
scope-of-practice concerns are not turf issues for one or another
specialty but are concerns of the profession of medicine.

Although the partnership aims to expand to all 50 states, its initial
state medical society members are from Massachusetts, Colorado, Texas,
California, New Mexico, and Maine. It also includes six medical
specialty societies: APA, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American
Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Academy of
Ophthalmology, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and American
Society of Anesthesiologists.
 
edieb said:
Jeff Matranga


Government News

AMA Forms Coalition to Thwart Non-M.D. Practice Expansion

Rich Daly

Members of a new medical partnership plan to share expertise and
resources in turning the tide against expansions in nonphysician health
professionals' scope of practice.

In an effort to marshal the medical community's resources against the
growing threat of expanding scope of practice for allied health
professionals, the AMA has formed a national partnership to confront
such initiatives nationwide.

The AMA Scope of Practice Steering Committee, formed at the urging of
APA, will coordinate research to help medical specialty societies and
state medical associations fight expansions in nonmedical scope of
practice and improve information sharing among those groups.

The strength of the approach lies in the breadth of its membership,
which will feed information on local legislative developments into the
partnership so all of the members will know what legislative strategies
allied health professionals are using nationally, according to Michael
Maves, M.D., executive vice president and CEO of the AMA.

The committee will use $25,000 annual contributions from its initial
members to fund research that helps refute the key arguments allied
health professionals use to advance their measures in state
legislatures. Initial research will accumulate national data on
differences in training and education between physicians and other
medical professionals and track the geographic distribution of such
professions. Advocates of scope-of-practice expansion often mitigate
differences between allied health professionals and physicians and claim
such legislation is needed to improve health care access in areas
underserved by physicians.

The partnership also will fund campaigns to stop scope-of-practice
legislation in states where such bills appear likely to advance.

Issues surrounding prescriptive authority will be a major focus for the
partnership, which was formed in part at the urging of APA Medical
Director James H. Scully Jr., M.D. APA has helped lead physicians into
the scope-of-practice fight following the enactment of laws in Louisiana
and New Mexico that allow psychologists to write prescriptions.

"These are issues that go beyond any one specialty," Scully said. Every
medical specialty has concerns with a group of allied health
professionals seeking privileges generally reserved for physicians.

The group will undertake projects focusing on the identification of what
constitutes adequate training and establish relationships with all of
the state medical boards and associations, Scully said. That
coordination will help clarify the message to state legislators that
scope-of-practice concerns are not turf issues for one or another
specialty but are concerns of the profession of medicine.

Although the partnership aims to expand to all 50 states, its initial
state medical society members are from Massachusetts, Colorado, Texas,
California, New Mexico, and Maine. It also includes six medical
specialty societies: APA, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American
Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Academy of
Ophthalmology, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and American
Society of Anesthesiologists.

They're going to have to do more than that.
 
Wow, 25 grand, a whole 25 grand? They are going to spend all of that trying to stop RxP? I don't know that might be a little overkill. Maybe just half would stop the problem.
 
Psyclops said:
Wow, 25 grand, a whole 25 grand? They are going to spend all of that trying to stop RxP? I don't know that might be a little overkill. Maybe just half would stop the problem.

;)

http://www.hawaiipsych.org/legislative/index.html

Bill Status

HB2589 HD2
Generated on 3/3/2006 3:17:52 PM
Measure Title: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.
Report Title: Psychologists; Prescriptive Authority
Description: Authorizes qualified psychologists practicing at federally qualified health centers or health clinics in medically underserved areas to prescribe a limited formulary of psychotropic medications. Establishes a formulary advisory committee to establish and revise the formulary. (HB2589 HD2)
Package: None
Companion:
Introducer(s): GREEN, ARAKAKI, HERKES, SONSON, Luke, Takumi, Tsuji
Current Referral: HLT, CPC



Date Status Text
1/24/2006 H Pending introduction.
1/25/2006 H Introduced and Pass First Reading.
1/27/2006 H Referred to HLT, CPC, referral sheet 5
2/4/2006 H Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Wednesday, 02-08-06 at 6:00 pm in House conference room 325.
2/9/2006 H The committees on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Arakaki, Green, Hale; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Cabanilla; 0 Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Nishimoto, Sonson, Halford.
2/15/2006 H Reported from the committee on HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 409-06) as amended in (HD 1), recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to the committee on CPC.
2/16/2006 H Passed Second Reading as amended in (HD 1) and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with Representative(s) Stevens, Stonebraker, Thielen voting no (3) and Representative(s) Kahikina excused (1).
2/17/2006 H Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Wednesday, 02-22-06 at 2:00 pm in House conference room 325.
2/22/2006 H The committee(s) recommends that the measure be deferred until 03-01-06.
2/24/2006 H Bill scheduled for decision making on Wednesday, 03-01-06 at 2:00 pm in conference room 325.
3/1/2006 H The committees on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Herkes, Schatz, Ito, Morita; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Caldwell, Karamatsu, Marumoto; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Stonebraker; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Kanoho, Sonson, Souki.
3/2/2006 H Reported from the committee on CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 775-06) as amended in (HD 2), recommending passage on Third Reading
 
3/3/2006 H Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 03/03/06.
 
PublicHealth said:
3/3/2006 H Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 03/03/06.

Does anybody have any idea what that means? I never paid attenton in U.S. government...
 
It is state govt and that varies alot...so I am told. I have an e-mail into the president of the Hi psych assoc to ask for clarification. Will post when I hear.
 
edieb said:
Does anybody have any idea what that means? I never paid attenton in U.S. government...

Guess we'll have to wait another 24 hours!
 
Greetings ASAP Readers,

Coming home from Cancun with 1610 emails to contend was more than I counted on. I am delighted with the great interest in and positive response to the lawsuit filed in federal court in California on behalf of three named plaintiffs that were denied proper treatment for mental conditions in prisons, Los Angeles County Jail, or the state mental hospitals. The suit was filed February 8th asking for damages from the State of California and the Los Angeles County for failing to provide access to treatment for their diagnosed mental conditions. Mr. Joseph H. Freeman, attorney for the plaintiffs and Dr. John Caccavale, President of the California Society of Clinical Psychopharmacologists, gave excellent presentations outlining the basis of the suit and its legal rationale. The plaintiffs were treated by psychologists trained in psychopharmacology but as psychologists are not allowed to prescribe psychotropic medications. The plaintiffs were not able to obtain treatment from psychiatrists who are authorized to prescribe medications. Psychiatrists are in such short supply that they are not readily available to the general public. The shortage of psychiatrists is so great that psychiatrists in private practice charge an exorbitant fee averaging $420 for the initial appointment even when the patient is willing to pay cash at the time of service!

Provisions of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) authorizes the mentally disabled to sue the state for damages if adequate accommodations are not made for them. All of us have known of grievous injustices in the treatment for the mentally ill. The rationale of this suit on lack of access to treatment in California is presented in the legal brief that is available on the Division 55 website http://www.Division55.org/Pages/News.htm. (Thanks to our intrepid webmaster, Dr. Gordon Herz.) The suit was filed by the plaintiffs and is not a suit by treating psychologists. However, the suit does have major implications for RxP. It is possible for psychological organizations to file amicus curiae briefs in support of the plaintiffs. In January 2006 the US Supreme Court issued a 9-0 decision on the Goodman case written by Justice Scalia affirming the rights of those protected under the ADA law to sue states. APA filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Goodman. It is hoped APA will provide the same support of the plaintiffs in this California suit. Dr. Jo Linder Crow, Executive Officer of the California Psychological Association says that CPA was not part of the filing of the suit. She re-affirms CPA’s longstanding position in support of greater access to care for the mentally ill. CPA is awaiting a response from APA before taking any action. At least two other states are considering filing amicus curiae briefs and possibly filing similar suits in their states. The State Leadership Conference is meeting this weekend and perhaps we will have more information on various possible actions shortly.

The National alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has issued grades for the various states on their treatment of the mentally ill. The average grade is “D” on a 5-point scale. You can find the grade for you state and the scores on the 39 categories that were rated on the NAMI website at http://NAMI.org . The full report of over 200 pages is available there. I have only had tie to scan the document. It does appear to be a useful document with good public relations value. However, I missed any information dealing with mental health personnel shortages in psychiatry or prescriptive authority of psychologists. Apparently prescriptive authority and shortages of psychiatrists did not make the priority list in the 39 categories rated.

I did not find a discussion about the use of medications that might have been useful.

There are other sources of information regarding mental health issues in your state by means of GOOGLE. For example, you can “Search” your state by typing in your state and use “psychiatric shortages” or “correction facilities” to refine your search.

Another source of information about your state that is of interest are federal positions that are hiring psychologists. For example, there is the Nation Health Service Corps, the Bureau of Prisons, the Veterans Administration, the FBI, the CIA, the Immigration Service, the Postal Service, etc. Laura Schopp of Missouri writes, “Guess how many Public Health Service jobs there are in your state?” She then gives the clue to the answer at the following email address: http://nhsc.bhpr.hsra.gov/jobs/search_form.cfm.

Jeff Matranga of Maine writes that the recent Psychiatric News reported that the American Medical Association has formed a coalition among medical groups of the various states that will donate $25,000 per state to thwart the expansion of the scope of practice of non-medical professions. The purpose of the money is to provide research data. States that were identified as having contributed to this research proposal were MA, CO, TX, NM, and ME. Six medical specialty societies were also reported to have contributed. Curiously, the American Psychiatric Association was not listed among them. Perhaps psychology should have a similar endeavor and solicit funds from state and other psychological groups and individuals.

In a spirit of professional collegiality, the following JAMA, March 1, 2006 issue reference is offered to assist in this research. Shortages of Medical Personnel at Community Health Centers, Rosenblatt, R, Andrilia, C.,Curtin,T., & Hart,L. Vol. 295 No. 9 pp1042-1049. There were vacancies for 13.3% of the family physician positions, 20.8% of the OB-GYN positions and 22.6% of the psychiatrist positions.

Rural Community Health Centers had the highest proportion of vacancies and longer-term vacancies and greater difficulty in filling vacancies. Recruitment for vacancies was heavily dependent on the National Health Service Corps, loan repayment programs, and international medical graduates with j-1 visa waivers.

Another good resource for research information on medical shortages would be the California plaintiff lawsuit cited above. For more information about this suit contact the California Society of Clinical Psychopharmacologists at www.cascp.com .

Best,
Jack
 
3/7/2006 H Passed Third Reading as amended in (HD 2 ) with Representative(s) Berg, Chang, Ching, Chong, Evans, Finnegan, Harbin, Ito, Karamatsu, Magaoay, Meyer, Moses, Pine, Sonson, Stevens, Stonebraker, Tanaka, Thielen, Tsuji, Wakai, Yama****a voting no (21) and Representative(s) Halford excused (1).

3/7/2006 H Transmitted to Senate.
 
3/9/2006 S Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 238).
3/9/2006 S Introduced, passed First Reading and referred to HTH, CPH


Looks like the bill is moving right along...
 
edieb said:
3/9/2006 S Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 238).
3/9/2006 S Introduced, passed First Reading and referred to HTH, CPH


Looks like the bill is moving right along...

Many medical directors of federal and community health centers in medically underserved areas of HI are supporting psychologist RxP. This is certainly helping to move this bill along. It's been a 22-year effort, so hopefully it will pass this year. Pat DeLeon is relentless.
 
What burns my butt is the fact that although the psychiarists have next to no people in these community mental health centers to provide meds, they still don't want psychologists there to prescribe. I mean in reality, a big hidden part of psychology's RxP agenda is mercenary; however, the psychiatrists are no better. By trying to stymie RxP in the Hawaiian community health centers, they are putting the health of their profession ahead of the health of the mentally ill. This is even more apparent in light of the fact that psychologists have written quite a few scripts in NM and LA with no dire consequences...
 
S,
The Hawaii RxP bill has been heard in 2 committees, Health & Consumer
Protection & Commerce, in the House.
All of the House members voted on the bill and by a close margin the
bill passed out of the House and now will be heard in the Senate by the
Health and Consumer Protection committees. The current bill number is HB
2589, HD2.
Does that help?
Aloha, Carol
 
psisci said:
S,
The Hawaii RxP bill has been heard in 2 committees, Health & Consumer
Protection & Commerce, in the House.
All of the House members voted on the bill and by a close margin the
bill passed out of the House and now will be heard in the Senate by the
Health and Consumer Protection committees. The current bill number is HB
2589, HD2.
Does that help?
Aloha, Carol


3/13/2006 S The committee(s) on HTH has scheduled a public hearing on 03-20-06 at 2:30 pm in conference room 016.

Just HOW MANY MORE steps are there?!?!?
 
I believe it took somewhere on order of 15-20(?) years for the APA lobbying efforts in state legislatures just to specify the definition of "psychologist" in each state generally only applies to doctoral-level professionals. Expect something far more contentious to take longer.

FWIW, RxP privileges were talked about as being the "saving grace" of the profession when I was in grad school, 12+ years ago. How many states have signed off on them now? 2? 3? You can bet progress is not going to be quicker unless one of the very large states passes the law (e.g., CA or NY).

John
 
3/20/2006 S The committee(s) on HTH recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HTH were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Baker; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Tsutsui ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Chun Oakland; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Hanabusa, Whalen
 
edieb said:
3/20/2006 S The committee(s) on HTH recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HTH were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Baker; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Tsutsui ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Chun Oakland; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Hanabusa, Whalen

Just how AMENDED is this bill going to be?
 
edieb said:
3/24/2006 S Reported from HTH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3076) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPH

:sleep:
 
edieb said:
3/24/2006 S Reported from HTH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3076) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPH


After reading the news article, I read the bill. Apparently, the article has the formulary wrong. Prescribing psychologists can prescribe all psychoactive meds except narcotics (e.g., morphine). Thus, the bill is akin to those bills passed in NM and LA. I find it odd that the articles published never explicitly mention psychologists have Ph.D.s. As it has a large bearing on whether or not the bills pass (as well as public perception of psychology), you think we would try to make this clear.

According to the Psychiatric News article, RxP bills have stalled in all the other states. Does anybody have any verification or negation of this?
 
edieb said:
After reading the news article, I read the bill. Apparently, the article has the formulary wrong. Prescribing psychologists can prescribe all psychoactive meds except narcotics (e.g., morphine). Thus, the bill is akin to those bills passed in NM and LA. I find it odd that the articles published never explicitly mention psychologists have Ph.D.s. As it has a large bearing on whether or not the bills pass (as well as public perception of psychology), you think we would try to make this clear.

According to the Psychiatric News article, RxP bills have stalled in all the other states. Does anybody have any verification or negation of this?

There's some talk on the Division 55 listserv that if HI gets RxP in federal medical centers (this looks VERY likely this year), then a proposal may be brought before Congress to get psychologist RxP in VA hospitals.
 
edieb said:
According to the Psychiatric News article, RxP bills have stalled in all the other states. Does anybody have any verification or negation of this?

Which article?
 
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