2009 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 61 - Professional and Occupational Licenses.
Article 9 - Psychologists
Section 61-9-17.1 - Conditional prescription certificate; prescription certificate; application; requirements; rulemaking by board; issuance, denial, renewal and revocation of certification. (Repealed effective July 1, 2016.)

61-9-17.1. Conditional prescription certificate; prescription certificate; application; requirements; rulemaking by board; issuance, denial, renewal and revocation of certification. (Repealed effective July 1, 2016.)

A.     A psychologist may apply to the board for a conditional prescription certificate. The application shall be made on a form approved by the board and be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant:   

(1)     has completed a doctoral program in psychology from an accredited institution of higher education or professional school, or, if the program was not accredited at the time of the applicant's graduation, that the program meets professional standards determined acceptable by the board;   

(2)     holds a current license to practice psychology in New Mexico;   

(3)     has successfully completed pharmacological training from an institution of higher education approved by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners or from a provider of continuing education approved by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners;   

(4)     has passed a national certification examination approved by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners that tests the applicant's knowledge of pharmacology in the diagnosis, care and treatment of mental disorders;   

(5)     within the five years immediately preceding the date of application, has successfully completed an organized program of education approved by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners and consisting of didactic instruction of no fewer than four hundred fifty classroom hours in at least the following core areas of instruction:   

(a)     neuroscience;   

(b)     pharmacology;   

(c)     psychopharmacology;   

(d)     physiology;   

(e)     pathophysiology;   

(f)     appropriate and relevant physical and laboratory assessment; and   

(g)     clinical pharmacotherapeutics;   

(6)     within the five years immediately preceding the date of application, has been certified by the applicant's supervising psychiatrist or physician as having successfully completed a supervised and relevant clinical experience, approved by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners, of no less than an eighty-hour practicum in clinical assessment and pathophysiology and an additional supervised practicum of at least four hundred hours treating no fewer than one hundred patients with mental disorders, the practica to have been supervised by a psychiatrist or other appropriately trained physician and determined by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners to be sufficient to competently train the applicant in the treatment of a diverse patient population;   

(7)     has malpractice insurance in place, sufficient to satisfy the rules adopted by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners, that will cover the applicant during the period the conditional prescription certificate is in effect; and   

(8)     meets all other requirements, as determined by rule of the board, for obtaining a conditional prescription certificate.   

B.     The board shall issue a conditional prescription certificate if it finds that the applicant has met the requirements of Subsection A of this section. The certificate shall be valid for a period of two years, at the end of which the holder may again apply pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A of this section. A psychologist with a conditional prescription certificate may prescribe psychotropic medication under the supervision of a licensed physician subject to the following conditions:   

(1)     the psychologist shall continue to hold a current license to practice psychology in New Mexico and continue to maintain malpractice insurance;   

(2)     the psychologist shall inform the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners of the name of the physician under whose supervision the psychologist will prescribe psychotropic medication and promptly inform the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners of any change of the supervising physician; and   

(3)     a physician supervising a psychologist prescribing psychotropic medication pursuant to a conditional prescription certificate shall inform the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners that he is supervising the psychologist. The physician shall be individually responsible for the acts and omissions of the psychologist while under his supervision. This provision does not relieve the psychologist from liability for his acts and omissions.   

C.     A psychologist may apply to the board for a prescription certificate. The application shall be made on a form approved by the board and be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant:   

(1)     has been issued a conditional prescription certificate and has successfully completed two years of prescribing psychotropic medication as certified by the supervising licensed physician;   

(2)     has successfully undergone a process of independent peer review approved by the board and the New Mexico board of medical examiners;   

(3)     holds a current license to practice psychology in New Mexico;   

(4)     has malpractice insurance in place, sufficient to satisfy the rules adopted by the board, that will cover the applicant as a prescribing psychologist; and   

(5)     meets all other requirements, as determined by rule of the board, for obtaining a prescription certificate.   

D.     The board shall issue a prescription certificate if it finds that the applicant has met the requirements of Subsection C of this section. A psychologist with a prescription certificate may prescribe psychotropic medication pursuant to the provisions of the Professional Psychologist Act if the psychologist:   

(1)     continues to hold a current license to practice psychology in New Mexico and continues to maintain malpractice insurance; and   

(2)     annually satisfies the continuing education requirements for prescribing psychologists, as set by the board, which shall be no fewer than twenty hours each year.   

E.     The board shall promulgate rules providing for the procedures to be followed in obtaining a conditional prescription certificate, a prescription certificate and renewals of a prescription certificate. The board may set reasonable application and renewal fees.   

F.     The board shall promulgate rules establishing the grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of conditional prescription certificates and prescription certificates authorized to be issued pursuant to this section, including a provision for suspension or revocation of a license to practice psychology upon suspension or revocation of a certificate. Actions of denial, suspension or revocation of a certificate shall be in accordance with the Uniform Licensing Act [61-1-1 NMSA 1978].