SR149 SD1

WHEREAS, there is a significant shortage of prescribing mental health care providers available to serve the needs of the State's residents in rural or medically underserved communities, especially in Hawai‘i, Maui, and Kaua‘i counties; and

WHEREAS, the lack of access to appropriate mental health treatment has serious and irrevocable consequences; and

WHEREAS, according to the Department of Health, death by suicide is the number one injury-related cause of death among Hawai‘i residents; and

WHEREAS, studies have shown that people who attempt or die by suicide often received inadequate or no mental health treatment due to a shortage of mental health providers; and

WHEREAS, while the causes for suicide can be complex, the most commonly reported contributing factors are mental health conditions that, when identified and treated, respond favorably to therapy and psychotropic medication; and

WHEREAS, clinical psychologists are licensed health professionals with an average of seven years of post-baccalaureate study and three thousand hours of post-graduate supervised practice in diagnosis and treatment of mental illness; and

WHEREAS, the American Psychological Association has developed a model curriculum for a Master's Degree in psychopharmacology for the education and training of prescribing psychologists; however, the existing scope of clinical psychologists' practice in Hawai‘i does not include prescribing medications; and

WHEREAS, Hawai‘i has previously authorized prescription privileges for a number of other health care professionals, and federal facilities have long allowed licensed clinical psychologists with specialized education and training to prescribe psychotropic medications in certain circumstances; and

WHEREAS, residents living on the neighbor islands are especially disproportionately affected by the State's physician shortage, which is attributed to factors such as residing in rural or geographically challenged locations, high costs of living, heavy tax burdens, and low reimbursements; and

WHEREAS, these factors were further exacerbated by the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, authorizing qualified clinical psychologists with appropriate advanced training to prescribe from a limited formulary of psychotropic medication will benefit Hawai‘i residents; and

WHEREAS, granting prescriptive authority to qualified psychologists will help meet the demands for psychological services in vulnerable populations and provide greater access to permanent mental health services provided by clinical psychologists, especially to those who live in rural or medically underserved communities; and

WHEREAS, a number of other states have adopted legislation authorizing prescriptive authority for advanced trained psychologists as a means of addressing the shortage of adequate evaluation and treatment for their mental health patients and have had success with this practice; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Division of Professional and Vocational Licensing, with the assistance of the Board of Psychology, is requested to convene a task force to develop legislation granting prescriptive authority to qualified psychologists practicing in the State of Hawai‘i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force include members representing other prescribing professions who are amenable to the possibility of prescriptive authority for appropriately trained psychologists and psychologists licensed in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

(1) Review and evaluate laws from other states where psychologists have been granted prescriptive authority, including their subsequent experiences and patient outcomes;

(2) Consider any additional conditions or necessary training that would be required to grant prescriptive authority to psychologists practicing in Hawai‘i;

(3) Determine whether the University of Hawai‘i currently has the personnel to provide the advanced training necessary for psychologists to be granted prescriptive authority; and

(4) Develop appropriate legislation that would grant prescriptive authority to appropriately trained psychologists in Hawai‘i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force, with the assistance of the Board of Psychology, is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be dissolved on June 30, 2023; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Executive Officer of the Board of Psychology.

Report Title:

Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Task Force; Prescriptive Authority; Clinical Psychologists

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	149
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII