Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Tennessee health panel pauses bill to let trained psychologists prescribe, sends it to summer study
Summary
After hours of testimony both for and against, the House Health Subcommittee voted to send House Bill 996 — which would allow certain specially trained psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications — to summer study so members can gather more data and stakeholder input.
The Tennessee House Health Subcommittee on Wednesday voted to send House Bill 996 to summer study after more than an hour of testimony from clinicians, advocates and medical organizations.
Proponents said the measure would expand access to psychiatric care by allowing psychologists with a doctoral degree and a postdoctoral credential in psychopharmacology to prescribe a restricted set of medications after supervised practice. Opponents, including the Tennessee Psychiatric Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Tennessee, urged caution and warned of safety risks.
Dr. Jason Anthes, a board‑certified child and adolescent psychiatrist who said he has supervised prescribing psychologists in the Department of Defense, told the committee, "I've seen it work." Anthes said prescribing psychologists can both diagnose and "choose or not choose medications when…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
