Vermont has some of the highest suicide rates in the country as well as some of the highest drug overdose deaths in the country despite ranking as having good access to care and low prevalence of mental health conditions in adults and youth. The problem is that most mental health care takes place in primary care settings with poor access to psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. Since 2017, Vermont has been working to pass prescriptive authority legislation for advance trained psychologist-doctorates.

Dr. Rick Barnett has been working with legislators, lobbyists, and other key stakeholders for the past 8 years to pass this legislation. Most recently, Dr. Barnett has worked with the Office of Professional Regulation using their newly enacted Sunrise Review Process. Dr. Barnett with discuss the history of RxP efforts in Vermont and provide an update on where things are currently, as well as the unique challenges for this small state in passing this kind of legislation. Recommendations for improved RxP legislative actions will be provided.

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