CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 172-16

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2016

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1072

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

       C.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sirs:

 

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 1072, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGISTS,"

 

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

 

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Board of Psychology to grant prescriptive authority privilege to prescribing psychologists who meet specific education, training, and registration requirements.

 

Your Committee on Conference notes that the mental health needs of the State continue to outweigh present capacity.  According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, approximately 32,000 adults in Hawaii, representing more than three percent of the population, live with serious mental illness.  However, this figure may not completely reflect the scope of need, as it does not include individuals with other clinical diagnoses such as unipolar depression, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, substance abuse, or post-traumatic stress disorder.  Furthermore, the United States Department of Health and Human Services states that in 2014, one in five American adults experienced a mental health issue and one in twenty-five Americans lived with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.  Authorizing prescriptive authority to prescribing psychologists will improve access to safe, high quality health care in the State, particularly in the State's rural and underserved communities.

 

     According to a Report on Findings from the Hawaii Physician Workforce Assessment Project (December 2014), physician shortages, including psychiatry, are highest in Hawaii's rural areas.  Across the different counties, the greatest shortage of psychiatrists is found in Maui County, which has a 41.2 percent shortage, followed by Hawaii County, with a 39.2 percent shortage, and Kauai County, which has a 29.5 percent shortage.  The report reflects no shortage of psychiatrists in the City and County of Honolulu. 

 

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Specifying that prescriptive authority shall be granted only to qualified psychologists practicing in a county with a population of less than 500,000;

 

     (2)  Specifying that the patient's primary care provider with whom a prescribing psychologist is required to consult and collaborate must be a licensed physician or osteopathic physician;

 

     (3)  Specifying that the Board shall begin accepting applications for prescriptive authority privilege on July 1, 2017;

 

     (4)  Adding a severability clause;

 

     (5)  Making it effective on July 1, 2016, and adding a sunset date of August 31, 2024; and

 

     (6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of clarity and consistency.

 

 

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1072, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1072, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

 

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

 

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

 

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

 

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Co-Chair

____________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

SCOTT Y. NISHIMOTO, Co-Chair