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authority that has not been revoked or suspended. 52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