Clock Runs Out on N.M. Psychologist Prescribing Bill

Neil Arnet, M.D., president of the PMANM, said part of the reason the district branch was able to head off the juggernaut was its close relationship with the NMMS. The medical society “has its own lobbyist, plus a second lobbyist with whom the society contracts to help on legislation issues,” Arnet told Psychiatric News. “Members of our executive committee began to meet with them early on. And during the legislative session, the NMMS hired a third lobbyist to work for them and us.”

District branch members also met with advocacy and consumer groups and with psychologists in an effort to educate them and elicit their support.

Other strategies the New Mexico psychiatrists used to build opposition to the bill despite limited financial resources, Arnet said, were “communicating with psychiatrists and nonpsychiatric physicians throughout the state and holding discussions with psychologists who opposed the prescribing bill. District branch members also went to the state capitol in Santa Fe to speak with lobbyists and meet with legislators,” he noted.

Arnet had considerable praise for the help provided by the staff of the APA Division of Government Relations (DGR). “As soon as we notified them about the prescribing bill, the staff began providing us with information. We received packets containing extensive information on the prescribing issue, including what had been done in other states,” he said.

DGR Director Jay Cutler, J.D., and Paula Johnson, deputy director for state affairs, “provided us with information, suggestions, and advice throughout the legislative session. They sent e-mails and faxes to psychiatrists throughout New Mexico. They were continually in touch with me, members of the district branch executive council, and the district branch office.”

The bill would have required doctoral-level psychologists to complete 300 credit hours in psychopharmacology, neuroscience, and physiology within the five years preceding the date of their application for prescription privileges. It also mandated that “the prescribing psychologist shall maintain an ongoing collaborative relationship with the health care practitioner who oversees the patient’s general medical care to ensure that necessary medical examinations are conducted, the psychotropic medication is appropriate for the patient’s medical condition, and significant changes in the patient’s medical or psychological condition are discussed.”

The bill added that in case the “prescribing psychologist and health care practitioner cannot agree on an appropriate psychotropic medication regimen that meets the patient’s physical and psychological needs, the prescribing psychologist shall not prescribe for the patient.”

The bill defined “health care practitioner” as a physician or nurse practitioner.

Arnet said that New Mexico psychiatrists and their allies are already preparing for the next round of the psychologist-prescribing battle. “We plan to maintain a close connection with the valuable team we have put together,” he said. “At the April meeting of our district branch executive council, we will discuss strategies for increasing member participation in the effort, contacting more psychologists who oppose the prescribing legislation, alerting the media to the implications of the bill, and more actively addressing the main issue that psychologists used for their argument, namely, that there are not enough psychiatrists in rural areas of New Mexico.”