Johnson signs bill allowing non-physicians to prescribe drugs

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO - In a move deplored by many psychiatrists, New Mexico has become the first state to let psychologists prescribe drugs for mental illness. <br> <br> Gov. Gary Johnson signed a measure Tuesday granting prescription authority to psychologists, saying revisions to the legislation had added safeguards, including reliance on the state Board of Medical Examiners to license the psychologists and establish guidelines for special medical training. <br> <br> Many states, including New Mexico, also allow specially trained nurse-practitioners to prescribe medication, particularly in rural areas where doctors are scarce. But states have been reluctant to extend that authority to psychologists who are not physicians. Bills considering similar actions failed to win support in Hawaii and Illinois but are still alive in Tennessee and Georgia. <br> <br> ``Over the past decade, 14 state legislatures have rejected psychology prescribing legislation,&#39;&#39; said Richard Harding, president of the American Psychiatric Association. <br> <br> The American Medical Association opposes prescribing by non-physicians of any type, including psychologists, who have advanced degrees in therapy but not in medicine. The American Psychiatric Association, which had run newspaper ads urging Johnson to veto the bill, on Wednesday lamented his decision to sign the measure. Psychiatrists are all medical doctors. <br> <br> ``The new law ... is the result of a cynical, economically motivated effort by some elements of organized psychology to achieve legislated prescriptive authority without benefit of medical education and training,&#39;&#39; Harding said. <br> <br> Calling it ``bad medicine,&#39;&#39; he said: ``We believe that the legislature and the governor in New Mexico have placed patient health and safety at risk.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Psychologists always have had a clear path to prescribing privileges it&#39;s called medical school, he said. <br> <br> Dr. Joel Yager, a professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico medical school, said there may be a ``silver lining&#39;&#39; in the revised measure, which requires the state Board of Medical Examiners to oversee the training: Yager said the university would get involved. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re going to be working very closely with the Board of Medical Examiners to make it a good program,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> For nurse-practitioners, Yager said, nurses must prove they have the experience and training to gain the right to issue prescriptions, and he said that&#39;s been in practice for more than a decade. Similar care will be taken with psychologists, he said. <br> <br> Supporters of the legislation argued the bill would help expand mental health services, particularly in rural areas. The New Mexico Psychological Association said there were only 95 psychiatrists in all of New Mexico, with a population of 1.8 million. But there are 426 psychologists, including 173 in rural areas, the Psychological Association said.