Vermont panel hears competing views on bill to let psychologists prescribe psychotropic drugs

Members of the Vermont House Committee on Health Care heard two hours of testimony on H.237, a bill that would create a pathway for doctoral-level psychologists to obtain prescriptive authority for psychotropic medications after completing additional coursework, supervised clinical practice and certification.

The bill has drawn sharply different views from clinicians. Stephanie Winters, deputy director of the Vermont Medical Society, said the society and associated physician groups have long engaged with the issue and remain concerned the bill “would not provide adequate clinical training to expand [psychologists'] scope to include prescriptive authority while adequately protecting the public.” Winters urged lawmakers to consult the Office of Professional Regulation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and to consider alternatives that expand access without changing psychologists’ scope.

Dr. Lisa Catapano Friedman, a psychiatrist and president of the Vermont Psychiatric Association, described prescribing psychotropic…