When it comes to obtaining a prescription for antidepressants, rural New Mexico is probably the last place you want to be due to the dearth of psychiatrists and primary care physicians in the area. It comes as no surprise then that the state was the first to pass a law enabling psychologists to prescribe drugs after completing rigorous coursework in psychopharmacology and passing a certified exam.
Since its enactment in 2002, the law has authorized 30 psychologists to prescribe psychotropic drugs, increasing the number of mental health professionals available in New Mexico to dole out the medications by one-third. For the roughly 80 million people who live in areas underserved by mental healthcare providers across the country, this is most welcome news. So much so, that now Arizona, Oregon and Montana are considering passing a similar law as well.
But not so fast, say doctors’ groups like the American Medical Association and some patient advocacy groups. They only want medical professionals prescribing these medications, arguing that some of the drugs have significant side effects.
“This is just a nicer way of saying that they don’t want any business taken away from physicians,” says ACSH staffer Jody Manley.
“Indeed, why not let psychologists, who have mastered psychopharmacology, prescribe drugs like antidepressants that are quite safe among the spectrum of drug toxicities?” asks ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. “By precluding psychologists from this privilege, you’re essentially barring a majority of people from accessing these medications.”
