Furthering the Washington State RxP Effort
Presented by David Shearer, PhD, MSCP
Recorded on Friday, March 15th, 2024
Access provided upon registration on “My Courses” page
Indisputably, there is a shortage of qualified professionals to meet the mental health care needs in the United States—in particular, psychiatric services—resulting in the need to recruit foreign physicians to the US to help fill the shortage (The New Economy Healthcare Report, 2017). In 2013, there were 45,580 actively practicing psychiatrists in the US to meet the needs of over 300 million persons, with 40% of the workforce practicing in exclusive cash-only private practices, the second highest among medical specialties after dermatologists (National Council for Behavioral Health, March 28, 2017). Health care disparities are particularly marked among underrepresented groups in terms of age, minority states, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. At the core of the RxP movement is providing access to quality mental health services to all. Presently, the states of New Mexico, Louisiana, Illinois, Iowa and Idaho have passed legislation for psychologist prescriptive authority. Washington State, may be the next state in which psychologists acquire prescriptive authority. The Washington Behavioral Health Workforce, as authorized by the Governor and Legislature, note that the demand for behavioral healthcare is outstripping the availability of service (2017). In this presentation, the Washington State RxP effort will be discussed with Dr. David Shearer, a prescribing psychologist and instrumental leader of the state initiative. The proposed model and lessons learned for states considering introducing RxP legislation will be discussed.
When attended in full, this program offers 1.0 APA CEs for Psychologists.
Indisputably, there is a shortage of qualified professionals to meet the mental health care needs in the United States—in particular, psychiatric services—resulting in the need to recruit foreign physicians to the US to help fill the shortage (The New Economy Healthcare Report, 2017). In 2013, there were 45,580 actively practicing psychiatrists in the US to meet the needs of over 300 million persons, with 40% of the workforce practicing in exclusive cash-only private practices, the second highest among medical specialties after dermatologists (National Council for Behavioral Health, March 28, 2017). Health care disparities are particularly marked among underrepresented groups in terms of age, minority states, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. At the core of the RxP movement is providing access to quality mental health services to all. Presently, the states of New Mexico, Louisiana, Illinois, Iowa and Idaho have passed legislation for psychologist prescriptive authority. Washington State, may be the next state in which psychologists acquire prescriptive authority. The Washington Behavioral Health Workforce, as authorized by the Governor and Legislature, note that the demand for behavioral healthcare is outstripping the availability of service (2017). In this presentation, the Washington State RxP effort will be discussed with Dr. David Shearer, a prescribing psychologist and instrumental leader of the state initiative. The proposed model and lessons learned for states considering introducing RxP legislation will be discussed.
After attending this intermediate-level program, participants will be able to:
- Discuss health care disparity issues impacting access to quality mental health services.
- Describe advocacy strategies for prescriptive authority legislation throughout the country.
This program meets APA’s continuing education STANDARD 1.2: Program content focuses on ethical, legal, statutory or regulatory policies, guidelines, and standards that influence psychological practice, education, or research.
This program meets APA’s continuing education GOAL 1: Program is relevant to psychological practice, education, and/or science
David Shearer, PhD, MSCP
Dr. David Shearer is a clinical and prescribing psychologist for the Department of the Army at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in the state of Washington. He serves as a core faculty member and Director of Behavioral Sciences for the MAMC family medicine residency. He is responsible for training family medicine residents in behavioral health topics including psychopharmacology and clinical psychology. Dr. Shearer is fully integrated into the family medicine clinics at MAMC as the primary psychopharmacological consultant and prescriber. In addition, he also teaches a year-long psychopharmacology course to psychology doctoral interns as a faculty member of the Department of Behavioral Health at MAMC. Dr. Shearer is the Chair of the Washington State Psychological Association Prescribing Psychology Legislative Taskforce.
Dr. Shearer is currently serving as past-President of the Division 55 board of directors. He is an adjunct faculty member at Alliant International University in the psychopharmacology program. Dr. Shearer has appointments in the Department of Family Medicine as an assistant professor at the Uniformed University of Health Sciences and as a clinical instructor at the University of Washington. His research, professional interests and publications include understanding and evaluating the combination of psychopharmacology and psychotherapy in the treatment of behavioral health disorders, prescribing psychology in primary care settings, teaching psychopharmacology to psychologists and allied health care providers, and the development of prescribing psychology in the military.
Gattman, N.E., McCarty, R.L., Balassa, A., Skillman, S.M. (2017). Washington State Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment. Olympia, WA: Washington Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board.
National Council for Behavioral Health. (March 28, 2017). The psychiatric shortage: Causes and solutions. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from: https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Psychiatric-Shortage_National-Council-.pdf?daf=375ateTbd56
The New Economy Healthcare. (Report, Oct. 2017). The silent shortage: How immigration can help address the large and growing shortage of psychiatrists in the United States. The New Economy.
Target Audience: All mental health disciplines, graduate students and alumni.
Psychologists. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 1.0 continuing education credits. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is also committed to conducting all activities in conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods.
Non Psychologists. Most licensing boards accept Continuing Education Credits sponsored by the American Psychological Association but non-psychologists are recommended to consult with their specific state-licensing board to ensure that APA-sponsored CE is acceptable.
*Participants must attend 100% of the program in order to obtain a Certificate of Attendance.
If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address questions, concerns and any complaints to [email protected]. There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.