On March 19, 2024, Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox signed S.B. 26 into lawopens in new window, making Utah the seventh U.S. state to pass prescriptive authority for specially trained psychologists.
The bill was the direct result of the governor’s request to state legislators to conduct a study to identify solutions to “eliminate barriers to behavioral health care access created by the licensing process.” S.B. 26 carries several recommendations from the Utah legislative study that will impact behavioral health licensing provisions. Specifically, the bill defines the education, training and certification requirements for prescribing psychologists.
To be eligible for certification as a prescribing psychologist in Utah, applicants must be licensed as a psychologist in the state, have earned a master’s of science degree in clinical psychopharmacology, have completed a minimum of 2 years/4,000 hours of clinical training under physician supervision, and have passed the Psychopharmacology Exam for Psychologistsopens in new window. For psychologists who intend to prescribe for pediatric or geriatric patients, or patients with comorbid health conditions, at least one year of their clinical training must include prescribing psychotropic medications to that specific patient population under the supervision of a licensed physician.
While the Utah Psychological Association (UPA) drafted the initial provisions included in the legislation, the Utah Medical Association added amendments without UPA’s input or involvement, such as limiting eligible supervisors for provisionally prescribing psychologists to physicians only. As a result, there are issues regarding the supervised clinical training requirements that UPA will address during the rule-making process.
UPA’s Director of Professional Affairs Nan Klein, PhD, noted that among the many lessons learned since UPA first introduced legislation about RxP privileges for psychologists in 2011, that “perhaps the most compelling one is that there is no prescription for getting a bill through the process.”
For questions about the new legislation or the rule-making process, contact the Office of Legal and State Advocacy.
Learn more about prescriptive authority for psychologists on the Prescriptive Authority webpage.