Sat, Jul 05 2008
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Published April 23, 2008 06:17 pm - Under current law, patients who see a psychologist for diagnosis and treatment of mental-health disorders must also go to a physician or a psychiatrist if they require medications. ‘The system is not working’: Proposed legislation would allow psychologists to write prescriptions By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com Virginia Gaston takes care of six foster children. At least half of them need some type of medication for seizures, depression or anger management. Gaston travels from her home in Aurora to a local psychologist for the counseling and therapy they need, but their psychologist, Dr. Brian Petrovich, can not prescribe medications for them. “If the psychologist who sees my children could prescribe medications, it would save our family time and money,” she said. “It would keep the children in school and it would allow for immediate medication for children who need it. “In order for our kids to receive medication, we must make an appointment with a psychiatrist in a larger city an hour away with an office who cannot fit us in for perhaps a month or more, take the children out of school, put enough gas in the car to get us there, and see a doctor that does not know our children as well as our own counselor for a 15-minute office visit.” To say that Gaston is frustrated is an understatement. Her frustration is growing. She used to be able to take her children to Carthage, Springfield or Joplin. The doctor she had been taking her children in Carthage has resigned. The practice she went to in Springfield, she says, no longer accepts patients for Lawrence County. “The system is not working. It is failing. I cannot get timely and appropriate care for my children,” she said. “It was difficult before. It is now even more constricted.” Legislation introduced in this session of the Missouri Legislature could provide some relief to the children served by Gaston. A new grassroots coalition has formed in support of House Bill 1739 and Senate Bill 917. The legislation would grant prescriptive authority for psychotropic medications to highly trained psychologists. Under current law, patients who see a psychologist for diagnosis and treatment of mental-health disorders must also go to a physician or a psychiatrist if they require medications. The legislation would grant prescription privileges to licensed, doctoral psychologists who complete two additional years of psychopharmacology training and pass a national exam. They also would need to maintain an ongoing relationship with a physician. The legislation is supported by the Missouri Coalition of Children’s Agencies, Missouri Boys and Girls Town, the Missouri Psychological Association, and Missouri Families for Access to Comprehensive Treatment (MOFact). Thomas Parquette, state director of MOFact, suffers from bi-polar disorder and depression. “We have a serious problem in Missouri,” he said. “Mental health is not getting the level of attention it should. The root of the problem is access to treatment. 
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