HB5898 Summary

• Amends the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act to establish a certification process allowing doctoral-level licensed psychologists to prescribe and dispense drugs used in treating mental, emotional, and psychological disorders under supervising physician direction.

• Requires certified medical psychologists to complete 300 contact hours of specialized didactic instruction in neuroscience, pharmacology, psychopharmacology, physiology, pathophysiology, and clinical pharmacotherapeutics within 5 years before application.

• Mandates 100 hours of supervised clinical experience managing a minimum of 100 patients pharmacologically and 80 hours of supervised physical assessment training, plus passage of a Board-approved certifying examination.

• Restricts medical psychologist prescriptions to FDA-approved drugs for conditions listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association; prohibits prescribing narcotics and limits controlled substance authority to Schedule 2N, 3N, 4, and 5 substances.

• Requires written supervisory agreements with a physician, annual renewal with 12 continuing education hours, and collaboration with patients' primary care providers before starting, altering, or discontinuing medications except in emergencies.