Remember the Alamo: Texas RxP Legislative Update
Presented by Cheryl Hall, PhD, MSCP
Recorded on Thursday, March 14th, 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. The COVID-19 pandemic has only helped to exacerbate the inequities of a mental health care system that was already in a state of crisis.
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, Idaho and Colorado have passed legislation for psychologist prescriptive authority. Texas is also moving forward with legislative efforts to allow psychologists to acquire prescriptive authority in the state. In this presentation, the Texas RxP effort will be discussed with Dr. Cheryl Hall, a psychologist and instrumental leader of the state’s RxP efforts. 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. The COVID-19 pandemic has only helped to exacerbate the inequities of a mental health care system that was already in a state of crisis.
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, Idaho and Colorado have passed legislation for psychologist prescriptive authority. Texas is also moving forward with legislative efforts to allow psychologists to acquire prescriptive authority in the state. In this presentation, the Texas RxP effort will be discussed with Dr. Cheryl Hall, a psychologist and instrumental leader of the state’s RxP efforts. 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.
Cheryl Hall, PhD, MSCP
Dr. Cheryl Hall earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology in 1982 from Hanover College in Indiana. She moved to Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, IL and earned a Master’s in Clinical Psychology in 1984. Dr. Hall graduated from Texas Tech University in 1995 with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She has worked with the school system conducting psychological evaluations, and as a staff psychologist at a residential treatment center for children. She was licensed as a psychologist in 1996, and started a private practice in Lubbock in 1998. Dr. Hall enrolled in the Texas A &
M/CSPP/Alliant M.S. post-doctoral program in psychopharmacology in 1999 and graduated in early 2001.
In her private practice, Dr. Hall treats both children and adults, spending the largest part of her day providing psychotherapy. She also provides medication consults to her patients’ primary care physicians and conducts psychological evaluations for bariatric surgery patients, clergy candidates, and veterans. Dr. Hall is a former member of the APA Council of Representatives and served as Federal Advocacy Coordinator for Texas for eight years. She was privileged to receive the Division 55 award for Distinguished Contribution to the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy at the State Level in 2015. Dr. Hall is the past President of TPA (2018) and is the RxP Chair for the Psychopharmacology Division. She was the 2020 Psychologist of the Year with the Texas Psychological Association. Dr. Hall is also a Conditional Prescribing Psychologist in New Mexico. Her professional goal is to work with others to achieve prescription privileges for psychologists in Texas.
Gordon, J. A. (2020). Addressing disparities: Advancing mental health care for all Americans. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/messages/2020/addressing-disparities-advancing-mental-health-care-for-all-americans.shtml
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2017). The doctor is out: Continuing disparities in access to mental health and physical health care. https://www.nami.org/parityreport
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
SAMSHA (2020). Double Jeopardy: COVID-19 and behavioral health disparities for black and Latino Communities in the U.S. Retrieved from: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/covid19-behavioral-health-disparities-black-latino-communities.pdf
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: Psychologists and doctoral psychology students.
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.