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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to prescriptive authority for 2
psychologists; creating s. 490.0065, F.S.; defining 3
terms; requiring the Board of Psychology to certify 4
psychologists to exercise prescriptive authority if 5
they meet specified criteria; requiring the board to 6
develop procedures and adopt rules relating to 7
prescriptive authority certification; authorizing the 8
board to require that a prescribing psychologist 9
correct certain deficiencies under certain 10
circumstances; specifying certification application 11
requirements; requiring the board to adopt rules 12
providing for certification renewal; specifying 13
continuing education requirements for certificate 14
renewal; specifying requirements for the prescribing 15
of drugs and controlled substances by a prescribing 16
psychologist; prohibiting specified prescribing 17
actions; requiring a prescribing psychologist who is 18
authorized to prescribe controlled substances to file 19
his or her federal Drug Enforcement Administration 20
registration number with the board within a specified 21
timeframe; requiring the board to maintain a current 22
record of every prescribing psychologist authorized to 23
prescribe controlled substances; requiring a 24
prescribing psychologist to maintain professional 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
liability insurance; exempting specified licensees 26
from certain certification requirements; requiring the 27
Board of Psychology to establish an interim panel for 28
a specified purpose by a specified date; providing 29
panel membership; requiring the panel to submit 30
recommendations for rules to the board by a specified 31
date; requiring the panel to develop a formulary for 32
prescribing psychologists; providing requirements for 33
the formulary; providing for the dissolution of the 34
panel; amending s. 627.6131, F.S.; revising provisions 35
related to health care insurance claims to provide for 36
prescribing psychologists; providing applicability; 37
providing an effective date. 38
39
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40
41
Section 1. Section 490.0065, Florida Statutes, is created 42
to read: 43
490.0065 Certification for pres criptive authority.— 44
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 45
(a) "Clinical experience" means a period of supervised 46
training and practice during which an individual learns and 47
conducts diagnoses and interventions under the supervision of a 48
physician. 49
(b) "Controlled substance" has the same meaning as in s. 50
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893.02. 51
(c) "Drug" has the same meaning as in s. 499.003. 52
(d) "Prescribing psychologist" means a psychologist who 53
has received from the board a certificate for prescriptive 54
authority which has not been revoked or suspended. 55
(e) "Prescription" has the same meaning as in s. 465.003. 56
(f) "Prescriptive authority" means having the authority to 57
prescribe, administer, discontinue, or distribute drugs or 58
controlled substances recognized o r customarily used in the 59
diagnosis, treatment, or management of an individual who has a 60
psychiatric, mental, cognitive, nervous, emotional, 61
developmental, or behavioral disorder within the scope of the 62
practice of psychology. 63
(2) DUTIES OF THE BOARD. —The board shall do all of the 64
following: 65
(a) Certify psychologists who meet the requirements listed 66
in subsection (3) to exercise prescriptive authority. 67
(b) Develop and implement procedures to review education 68
and training requirements for certification . 69
(c) Adopt rules to deny, modify, suspend, or revoke a 70
psychologist's prescriptive authority certification. The board 71
may require remediation by a prescribing psychologist to correct 72
deficiencies in his or her training or practice upon the board's 73
determination that such deficiencies could reasonably be 74
expected to jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the 75
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public. 76
(3) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. — 77
(a) A psychologist who applies for prescriptive authority 78
certification must demonstrate all of the f ollowing by an 79
official transcript or other official evidence deemed 80
satisfactory by the board: 81
1. A current license as a psychologist. 82
2. Graduation from a doctoral program in psychology. 83
3. A passing score on an examination developed by a 84
nationally recognized body, such as the Psychopharmacology 85
Examination for Psychologists offered by the Association of 86
State and Provincial Psychology Boards, and approved by the 87
board to establish competency in prescriptive authority. 88
4.a. Consistent with the Am erican Psychological 89
Association's established policies for education of 90
psychologists in preparation for prescriptive authority, 91
successful completion of an organized sequence of study in a 92
program offering intensive didactic education which includes 93
core areas of instruction in basic sciences, neurosciences, 94
physical examination, interpretation of laboratory tests, 95
pathological bases of disease, clinical medicine, clinical 96
neurotherapeutics, systems of care, pharmacology, clinical 97
pharmacology, psychophar macology, psychopharmacology research, 98
and professional, ethical, and legal issues. The program must 99
consist of an appropriate number of hours of didactic 100
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instruction, as determined by the board, to ensure that the 101
applicant has the knowledge and skills re quired to prescribe 102
drugs in a safe and effective manner. 103
b. Consistent with the American Psychological 104
Association's established policies for the training of 105
psychologists in preparation for prescriptive authority, 106
relevant clinical experience sufficien t for the applicant to 107
attain competency in the psychopharmacological treatment of a 108
diverse patient population or at least 2 years practicing under 109
the supervision of a licensed physician whose practice involves 110
the pharmacological treatment of mental, ne rvous, emotional, 111
behavioral, substance abuse, or cognitive diseases. 112
113
The educational and training requirements under this 114
subparagraph may be met as part of a doctoral program, 115
postdoctoral training, or a fellowship in psychology. 116
(b) A psychologist is exempt from the educational 117
requirements established under paragraph (a) if he or she has 118
completed the United States Department of Defense 119
Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project. 120
(4) CERTIFICATION RENEWAL. — 121
(a) The board shall establish by rule a m ethod for the 122
renewal of prescriptive authority certification, to occur in 123
conjunction with licensure renewal pursuant to s. 490.007. 124
(b) Each applicant for renewal must present satisfactory 125
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evidence to the board demonstrating completion of 20 hours of 126
continuing education relevant to prescriptive authority during 127
the previous 2-year licensure period. 128
(5) PRESCRIPTION PRACTICES. — 129
(a) A prescribing psychologist may use his or her 130
prescriptive authority certification in accordance with rules 131
adopted by the board. 132
(b) A prescribing psychologist shall: 133
1. Maintain a record of all of a patient's prescriptions. 134
2. Consult and collaborate with a patient's primary care 135
physician and concur with that physician before prescribing a 136
drug, altering a drug tr eatment plan, or discontinuing a drug. 137
(c) A prescribing psychologist may not: 138
1. Issue a prescription unless the psychologist holds a 139
valid and current prescriptive authority certification that has 140
not been revoked or suspended. 141
2. Delegate the auth ority to prescribe drugs to another 142
person. 143
3. Issue a prescription to a patient who does not have a 144
primary care physician. 145
(d) A prescription issued by a prescribing psychologist 146
must do all of the following: 147
1. Be written in a manner as determined by the board. 148
2. Comply with all applicable state and federal laws. 149
(6) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PRESCRIPTION AUTHORITY. — 150
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(a) Upon the board authorizing a psychologist to prescribe 151
controlled substances, the prescribing psychologist must file 152
with the board, within 10 days after the authorization, his or 153
her federal Drug Enforcement Administration registration number. 154
(b) The board shall maintain a current record of every 155
prescribing psychologist authorized to prescribe controlled 156
substances. 157
(7) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. —A prescribing psychologist 158
must maintain at least $250,000 of professional liability 159
insurance coverage. 160
(8) EXEMPTION.—A person holding an active license as a 161
physician or physician assistant under chapter 458 or chapter 162
459 or an advanced practice registered nurse holding an active 163
license under chapter 464 is exempt from the certification 164
requirements of this section. 165
(9) INTERIM PANEL.—By October 1, 2024, the board shall 166
establish an interim panel to provide recommendations for 167
proposed rules governing prescriptive authority for 168
psychologists. The interim panel shall consist of a psychiatrist 169
licensed under chapter 45 8 or chapter 459 and a pediatrician, 170
both selected by the Board of Medicine; a pharmacist who holds a 171
doctoral degree, selected by the Board of Pharmacy; and two 172
psychologists who hold postdoctoral master's degrees in clinical 173
psychopharmacology, selected by the Board of Psychology. The 174
panel shall submit its recommendations for proposed rules to the 175
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board by February 1, 2025. 176
(a) The interim panel shall establish a formulary that: 177
1. Authorizes the prescribing of drugs recognized and 178
customarily used for the management of mental, nervous, 179
emotional, behavioral, substance abuse, and cognitive diseases. 180
2. Establishes guidelines for the pharmacological 181
treatment of patients younger than 18 years of age. 182
3. Limits the prescribing of Schedule II control led 183
substances to those drugs recognized and customarily used for 184
the management of mental, nervous, emotional, behavioral, 185
substance abuse, and cognitive diseases. 186
4. Prohibits the prescribing of drugs primarily used to 187
pharmacologically treat patients for other primary conditions, 188
unless specifically defined and authorized in the formulary. 189
(b) This subsection expires May 1, 2025. 190
Section 2. Subsection (18) of section 627.6131, Florida 191
Statutes, is amended to read: 192
627.6131 Payment of claims. — 193
(18) Notwithstanding the 30 -month period provided in 194
subsection (6), all claims for overpayment submitted to a 195
provider licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, 196
chapter 461, or chapter 466, or chapter 490 must be submitted to 197
the provider within 12 months after the health insurer's payment 198
of the claim. A claim for overpayment may not be permitted 199
beyond 12 months after the health insurer's payment of a claim, 200
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except that claims for overpayment may be sought beyond that 201
time from providers con victed of fraud pursuant to s. 817.234. 202
Section 3. The amendments made to s. 627.6131(18), Florida 203
Statutes, by this act apply to claims for services provided on 204
or after October 1, 2024. 205
Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 206