AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68, relative to psychologists.
SB0911 creates a new statutory framework allowing certain doctoral-level psychologists in Tennessee to obtain prescriptive authority for psychotropic and other mental-health-related medications. The bill defines two levels of authorization: an initial certificate to prescribe under physician supervision and an advanced certificate to prescribe as a prescribing psychologist with independent prescriptive authority, subject to board rules. To qualify, a psychologist must hold a doctoral license in Tennessee, complete a post-doctoral master’s program in clinical psychopharmacology, pass an approved prescribing exam, and complete a supervised fellowship involving at least 100 patient evaluations.
The bill limits what prescribing psychologists may do. They may prescribe medications used for behavioral health, mental, nervous, substance abuse, emotional, or cognitive disorders, but they may not prescribe narcotic drugs or opiates, administer electroconvulsive therapy, or prescribe for patients who are not also under the care of a treating physician or other primary care provider. The bill also requires continuing education, recordkeeping, DEA and controlled-substances registration where applicable, and board oversight for denial, suspension, revocation, or remediation of prescriptive authority.
SB0911 amends multiple Tennessee Code sections across Titles 39, 53, 63, and 68 to recognize prescribing psychologists in state law and to align controlled-substance, pharmacy, nursing, sleep medicine, and related provisions with that new role. It expands the scope of practice for qualified psychologists, authorizes the Board of Examiners in Psychology to certify and regulate prescriptive authority, and requires coordination with the Board of Pharmacy. The bill also changes related definitions and cross-references so that prescribing psychologists are treated similarly to other limited prescribers in the affected statutes.
The bill text and available context suggest a generally supportive posture toward expanding access to mental health treatment through psychologist prescribing authority, with the legislation structured to impose substantial training and oversight requirements. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no documented floor or committee debate in the supplied materials. The overall design of the bill indicates an attempt to balance expanded practice authority with patient-safety safeguards and regulatory control.
The main points of potential contention are the expansion of prescriptive authority beyond physicians and the scope of medications psychologists may prescribe. Supporters would likely emphasize improved access to behavioral health care, especially in underserved areas, while opponents may question whether psychologists should prescribe at all, whether the training requirements are sufficient, and whether independent authority should be granted before a physician-supervised period. Additional concern may arise from the bill’s interaction with controlled substances, even though it expressly prohibits narcotics and opiates, and from the requirement that patients remain under concurrent care of a physician or primary care provider.