Utah Senate rejects measure giving limited prescribing authority to psychologists amid heated debate

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate on Feb. 21 rejected Second Substitute Senate Bill 26, a sweeping behavioral health measure that included provisions to allow certified prescribing psychologists to prescribe certain psychotropic medications under defined educational and supervision requirements.

Senator Bramble, the bill sponsor, told colleagues the measure was intended to expand access to mental health care and included multiple guardrails: certified prescribing psychologists would be required to complete didactic training (described in an amendment as 30 didactic hours), meet clinical-practice thresholds (the amendment set that at 4,000 hours or two years, whichever is greater), and establish a collaborative relationship with a health-care practitioner overseeing the patient’s general medical care. ‘‘A certified prescribing psychologist may only prescribe psychotropic medication for a patient if the certified…