Bill description: SB 1305 would let mental health professionals seeking the authority to prescribe medication obtain a provisional certificate if they are supervised by a family doctor. This expands the list of professionals that may supervise the person prescribing medications under a provisional certificate.

Rating: +1

Does it increase barriers to entry into the market? Examples include occupational licensure, the minimum wage, and restrictions on home businesses. Conversely, does it remove barriers to entry into the market? 

Those just starting out in the field of psychology in Idaho can receive a provisional certificate of authority to issue prescriptions under another professional’s supervision for two years, before receiving their full certification. Any psychology student seeking a provisional certification must have a supervision agreement with a certified psychiatrist, neurologist, “or other physicians with specialized training and experience in the management of psychotropic medication.” This bill would add family medicine physicians to that list of potential supervisors.

(+1)

Analyst’s Note:

This bill would add another condition to the experience requirement for potential supervisors. Supervisors must currently have “training and experience in the management of psychotropic medication.” This bill would specifically call for a minimum of two years of experience. 

This bill provides no grandfather clause to protect current supervisor agreements that may not meet that criteria. However, it is unlikely that any existing agreements would violate this new requirement since other sections of statute indicate that individuals must have two years of experience to obtain a full prescriptive authority certification.