Psychologists Can Prescribe After Training - Bill Goes Into Effect Today

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[chance33_98]

Psychologists Can Prescribe After Training
Bill Goes Into Effect Today
Posted: 7:59 a.m. MDT July 1, 2002

SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico became the first state Monday to allow psychologists prescribe drugs for mental illness.

Psychologists are not medical doctors but have advanced degrees.

Supporters of the law said it will help New Mexico get affordable care to people. They said it will improve mental health care in a state already suffering from a shortage of psychiatrists, who are medical doctors who already had the authority to prescribe drugs.

Opponents said psychologists do not have the necessary medical training to prescribe drugs.

The law includes training requirements for psychologists before they can prescribe.

[chance33_98]

Cool - more people to give us drugs...

[johniegrad]

I saw your profile page. How is it that some of the ugliest guys have the most beautiful children? 8-)

[jlogajan]

more people to give us drugs

Yes, we need the government to protect us from our own choices.

[johniegrad]

Which choices are you referring to?

[mysterio]

I think that psychologists should be able to prescribe. With the internet, you can prescribe your own medicine legally, so why shouldn't they be able to?

[JudyB1938]

This is so stupid. It would make more sense to let pharmacists prescribe rather than people who are untrained in pharmaceuticals. There's more to medicine than "here, take this".

[jlogajan]

Which choices are you referring to?

Which choices are we allowed these days?

[Green]

Psychologists actually do "prescribe" the medication now as it is. All they do is tell your medical doctor or a phychiatrist that they "work under" what medication they recommend and that is what is prescribed. Only difference here is that it will be their name on the prescription rather than the doctor.

[aruanan]

Opponents said psychologists do not have the necessary medical training to prescribe drugs.

Even a lot of medical doctors don't have the necessary training to prescribe drugs. Pharmacists can tell you this.

[johniegrad]

Which choices are you referring to?

Which choices are we allowed these days?

Thanks answering the question.

[irish guard]

Just what we need is people prescribing psychotropic drugs for potentially dangerous folks!

[johniegrad]

Thanks for answering the question.

[irish guard]

whew, nice grammar, that's what I get for doing that while I was on the phone!

[friendly]

Psychologists have no more training in biology or chemistry than lawyers. The idea is horrifying that some politically connected numbskulls are going to be prescribing powerful medications with potentially lethal side effects to people, some of whom have serious physical illnesses.

The only certainty in this preposterous misadventure is some major malpractice lawsuits.

[johniegrad]

A better solution to this already exists for people in underserved areas. There are advanced practice nurses with independent prescriptive authority who have demonstrated competency in nursing, received additional education (varying from jurisdiction to jurisdiction), and who work in collaborative relationships (practice agreements) with psychiatrists receiving supervision. In my location, these nurses have experience in general psychiatric nursing (some for 20 or more years) and have completed a masters degree in mursing with special emphasis on psychopharmacology. They then enter into a practice agreement with a psychiatrist on the types of medications allowable for prescription and the manner of supervision. Since my large multispecialty practice is self-insured, their liability coverage is not a problem. Otherwise, they must provide for their own or whatever business arrangement they are under with an employer.

[My2Cents]

Well, don't let the MD fool you. For the most part, prescribing drugs for mental illnesses is mostly guesswork on the part of the psychiatrists too.

[jlogajan]

In your world view, who should have the ultimate choice of what you yourself injest for the health and well being of your own body -- you, or someone else?

[johniegrad]

Joint (no pun intended) decision. The individual that comes to see me benefits from my knowledge, training, and experience but yet has to set parameters about what (if any) medications they are willing to take. The information that they receive will ideally allow them to make an informed decision.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Well, I have advanced degrees, but I don't think I'm qualified to prescribe drugs. (I did read Harrison's "Principles of Internal Medicine" though. One problem in NM is that there simply are not enough doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, etc.

You are right about pharmicists; they do know more about prescription (and over-the-counter) drugs than doctors. My doctor friends tell me that they don't get nearly enough training on prescription drugs in medical school. Painkillers were not even discussed much (this was 20 years ago).

[chance33_98]

I saw your profile page. How is it that some of the ugliest guys have the most beautiful children? 8-)

How do you know I am guy...