Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0023 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	HB 23 2025
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
8	8	hb23-00
9	9	Page 1 of 8
10	10	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
11	11
12	12
13	13
14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to prescriptive authority 2
16	16	certification for psychologists; creating s. 490.0065, 3
17	17	F.S.; defining terms; requiring the Board of 4
18	18	Psychology to certify psychologists to exercise 5
19	19	prescriptive authority if specified criteria are met; 6
20	20	requiring the board to develop procedures and adopt 7
21	21	rules relating to prescriptive authority 8
22	22	certification; authorizing the board to require that a 9
23	23	prescribing psychologist correct certain deficiencies 10
24	24	under certain circumstances; specifying certification 11
25	25	application requirements; requiring the board to adopt 12
26	26	rules providing for certification renewal; specifying 13
27	27	continuing education requirements for certification 14
28	28	renewal; specifying requirements for the prescribing 15
29	29	of drugs and controlled substances by a prescribing 16
30	30	psychologist; prohibiting specified prescribing 17
31	31	actions; requiring a prescribing psychologist who is 18
32	32	authorized to prescribe controlled substances to file 19
33	33	his or her federal Drug Enforcement Administration 20
34	34	registration number with the board within a specifie d 21
35	35	timeframe; requiring the board to maintain a current 22
36	36	record of every prescribing psychologist authorized to 23
37	37	prescribe controlled substances; requiring a 24
38	38	prescribing psychologist to maintain professional 25
39	39
40	40	HB 23 2025
41	41
42	42
43	43
44	44	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
45	45	hb23-00
46	46	Page 2 of 8
47	47	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
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	liability insurance; exempting specified licensees 26
52	52	from certification requirements; requiring the board 27
53	53	to establish an interim panel for a specified purpose 28
54	54	by a specified date; providing panel membership; 29
55	55	requiring the panel to submit recommendations for 30
56	56	rules to the board by a specified date; requiring the 31
57	57	panel to develop a formulary for prescribing 32
58	58	psychologists; providing requirements for the 33
59	59	formulary; providing for expiration of the interim 34
60	60	panel; providing an effective date. 35
61	61	36
62	62	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37
63	63	38
64	64	Section 1. Section 490.0065, Florida Statutes, is created 39
65	65	to read: 40
66	66	490.0065 Certification for prescriptive authority. - 41
67	67	(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 42
68	68	(a) "Clinical experience" means a period of supervised 43
69	69	training and practice during w hich an individual learns and 44
70	70	conducts diagnoses and interventions under the supervision of a 45
71	71	psychologist. 46
72	72	(b) "Controlled substance" has the same meaning as in s. 47
73	73	893.02. 48
74	74	(c) "Drug" has the same meaning as in s. 499.003. 49
75	75	(d) "Prescribing psychologi st" means a psychologist who 50
76	76
77	77	HB 23 2025
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
82	82	hb23-00
83	83	Page 3 of 8
84	84	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
85	85
86	86
87	87
88	88	has received from the board a certificate for prescriptive 51
89	89	authority that has not been revoked or suspended. 52
90	90	(e) "Prescription" has the same meaning as in s. 465.003. 53
91	91	(f) "Prescriptive authority" means having the authority to 54
92	92	prescribe, administer, discontinue, or distribute drugs or 55
93	93	controlled substances recognized or customarily used in the 56
94	94	diagnosis, treatment, or management of an individual who has a 57
95	95	psychiatric, mental, cognitive, nervous, emotional, 58
96	96	developmental, or behavioral disorder within the scope of the 59
97	97	practice of psychology. 60
98	98	(2) DUTIES OF THE BOARD. —The board shall: 61
99	99	(a) Certify psychologists who meet the requirements listed 62
100	100	in subsection (3) to exercise prescriptive authority. 63
101	101	(b) Develop and implement pr ocedures to review education 64
102	102	and training requirements for certification. 65
103	103	(c) Adopt rules to deny, modify, suspend, or revoke a 66
104	104	psychologist's prescriptive authority certification. The board 67
105	105	may require remediation by a prescribing psychologist to correc t 68
106	106	deficiencies in his or her training or practice upon the board's 69
107	107	determination that the deficiencies could reasonably be expected 70
108	108	to jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the public. 71
109	109	(3) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. — 72
110	110	(a) A psychologist who applies for prescriptive authority 73
111	111	certification must demonstrate by an official transcript or 74
112	112	other official evidence deemed satisfactory by the board: 75
113	113
114	114	HB 23 2025
115	115
116	116
117	117
118	118	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
119	119	hb23-00
120	120	Page 4 of 8
121	121	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
122	122
123	123
124	124
125	125	1. A current license as a psychologist. 76
126	126	2. Graduation from a doctoral program in psychology. 77
127	127	3. A passing score on an examination developed by a 78
128	128	nationally recognized body, such as the Psychopharmacology 79
129	129	Examination for Psychologists offered by the Association of 80
130	130	State and Provincial Psychology Boards, and approved by the 81
131	131	board to establish competency in prescriptive authority. 82
132	132	4.a. Consistent with the American Psychological 83
133	133	Association's established policies for education of 84
134	134	psychologists in preparation for prescriptive authority, 85
135	135	successful completion of an organized sequence of study in a 86
136	136	program offering intensive didactic education that includes core 87
137	137	areas of instruction in basic sciences, neurosciences, physical 88
138	138	examination, interpretation of laboratory tests, pathological 89
139	139	bases of disease, clinical medicine, clinical neurotherapeutics, 90
140	140	systems of care, pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, 91
141	141	psychopharmacology, psychopharmacology research, and 92
142	142	professional, ethical, and legal issues. The program must 93
143	143	consist of an appropriate number of hours of didactic 94
144	144	instruction, as determined by the board, to e nsure that the 95
145	145	applicant has the knowledge and skills required to prescribe 96
146	146	drugs in a safe and effective manner. 97
147	147	b. Consistent with the American Psychological 98
148	148	Association's established policies for the training of 99
149	149	psychologists in preparation for prescr iptive authority, 100
150	150
151	151	HB 23 2025
152	152
153	153
154	154
155	155	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
156	156	hb23-00
157	157	Page 5 of 8
158	158	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
159	159
160	160
161	161
162	162	relevant clinical experience sufficient for the applicant to 101
163	163	attain competency in the psychopharmacological treatment of a 102
164	164	diverse patient population or at least 2 years practicing under 103
165	165	the supervision of a licensed physician whose pract ice involves 104
166	166	the pharmacological treatment of mental, nervous, emotional, 105
167	167	behavioral, substance abuse, or cognitive diseases. 106
168	168	107
169	169	The educational and training requirements under this 108
170	170	subparagraph may be met as part of a doctoral program, 109
171	171	postdoctoral training , or a fellowship in psychology. 110
172	172	(b) A psychologist is exempt from the educational 111
173	173	requirements established under paragraph (a) if he or she has 112
174	174	completed the United States Department of Defense 113
175	175	Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project. 114
176	176	(4) CERTIFICATION RENEWAL.— 115
177	177	(a) The board shall establish by rule a method for the 116
178	178	renewal of prescriptive authority certification, to occur in 117
179	179	conjunction with licensure renewal pursuant to s. 490.007. 118
180	180	(b) Each applicant for renewal of prescriptive authority 119
181	181	certification must present satisfactory evidence to the board 120
182	182	demonstrating completion of 20 hours of continuing education 121
183	183	relevant to prescriptive authority during the previous 2 -year 122
184	184	licensure period. 123
185	185	(5) PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY PRACTICES. — 124
186	186	(a) A prescribing psychologist may use his or her 125
187	187
188	188	HB 23 2025
189	189
190	190
191	191
192	192	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
193	193	hb23-00
194	194	Page 6 of 8
195	195	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
196	196
197	197
198	198
199	199	prescriptive authority certification in accordance with rules 126
200	200	adopted by the board. 127
201	201	(b) A prescribing psychologist shall: 128
202	202	1. Maintain a record of all of a patient's prescriptions. 129
203	203	2. Consult and collaborate with a pat ient's primary care 130
204	204	physician and concur with that physician before prescribing a 131
205	205	drug, altering a drug treatment plan, or discontinuing a drug. 132
206	206	(c) A prescribing psychologist may not: 133
207	207	1. Issue a prescription unless the psychologist holds a 134
208	208	valid and current prescriptive authority certification that has 135
209	209	not been revoked or suspended. 136
210	210	2. Delegate the authority to prescribe drugs to another 137
211	211	individual. 138
212	212	3. Issue a prescription to a patient who does not have a 139
213	213	primary care physician. 140
214	214	(d) A prescription issued by a prescribing psychologist 141
215	215	must: 142
216	216	1. Be written in a manner as determined by the board. 143
217	217	2. Comply with all applicable state and federal laws. 144
218	218	(6) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY. — 145
219	219	(a) Upon being authorized to prescribe contro lled 146
220	220	substances, a prescribing psychologist shall file with the 147
221	221	board, within 10 days after the authorization is received from 148
222	222	the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, his or her 149
223	223	registration number. 150
224	224
225	225	HB 23 2025
226	226
227	227
228	228
229	229	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
230	230	hb23-00
231	231	Page 7 of 8
232	232	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
233	233
234	234
235	235
236	236	(b) The board shall maintain a current record of every 151
237	237	prescribing psychologist authorized to prescribe controlled 152
238	238	substances. 153
239	239	(7) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. —A prescribing psychologist 154
240	240	must maintain at least $250,000 of professional liability 155
241	241	insurance coverage. 156
242	242	(8) EXEMPTION.—An individual holding an active license as 157
243	243	a physician or physician assistant under chapter 458 or chapter 158
244	244	459 or an advanced practice registered nurse holding an active 159
245	245	license under chapter 464 is exempt from the certification 160
246	246	requirements of this section. 161
247	247	(9) INTERIM PANEL.—The board shall establish an interim 162
248	248	panel by October 1, 2025, to provide recommendations for 163
249	249	proposed rules governing prescriptive authority for 164
250	250	psychologists. The interim panel shall consist of a psychiatrist 165
251	251	licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 and a pediatrician, 166
252	252	both selected by the Board of Medicine; a pharmacist who holds a 167
253	253	doctoral degree, selected by the Board of Pharmacy; and two 168
254	254	psychologists who hold postdoctoral master's degrees in clinical 169
255	255	psychopharmacology, selected by the Board of Psyc hology. The 170
256	256	interim panel shall submit its recommendations for proposed 171
257	257	rules to the Board of Psychology by February 1, 2026. 172
258	258	(a) The interim panel shall establish a formulary that: 173
259	259	1. Authorizes the prescribing of drugs recognized and 174
260	260	customarily used for the management of mental, nervous, 175
261	261
262	262	HB 23 2025
263	263
264	264
265	265
266	266	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
267	267	hb23-00
268	268	Page 8 of 8
269	269	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
270	270
271	271
272	272
273	273	emotional, behavioral, substance abuse, or cognitive diseases. 176
274	274	2. Establishes guidelines for the pharmacological 177
275	275	treatment of patients younger than 18 years of age. 178
276	276	3. Limits the prescribing of Schedule II contro lled 179
277	277	substances to those drugs recognized and customarily used for 180
278	278	the management of mental, nervous, emotional, behavioral, 181
279	279	substance abuse, or cognitive diseases. 182
280	280	4. Prohibits the prescribing of drugs primarily used to 183
281	281	pharmacologically treat patients for other primary conditions, 184
282	282	unless specifically defined and authorized in the formulary. 185
283	283	(b) This subsection expires May 1, 2026. 186
284	284	Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 187