The revised 2019 standards for psychopharmacological training: Model education and training program in psychopharmacology for prescriptive authority.

The American Psychological Association (APA), under the oversight of the Board of Educational Affairs, and the Board of Professional Affairs, is responsible for the education and training of psychologists in prescriptive authority. All APA standards and guidelines are required by Association Rule 30-8.3 to be revised at least every 10 years. The standards for training psychologists in the safe and responsible practice of prescribing psychotropic medication have been recently updated (Model Education and Training Program in Psychopharmacology for Prescriptive Authority, APA, 2019). A departure from the 1996 and 2009 versions of that document is that training may now be conducted at the doctoral level; however, a postdoctoral supervised clinical fellowship can only occur after the attainment of licensure as a practicing psychologist. Two novel features of the 2019 revision are the use of a competency-based model of learning and assessment, and increased emphasis on supervised clinical experiences in physical assessment and medication management. By the time of completion of their fellowships, practicing psychologists are expected to have clinical competence in the measurement and interpretation of vital signs; neurological examination; therapeutic drug monitoring; systems of care; pharmacology; clinical pharmacology; psychopharmacological research; and finally, professional, ethical, and legal issues. The updated standards were approved as APA policy in February 2019. This article briefly reviews the revision process and highlights the updates made in the most recent version of the standards. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Critical Concerns When Incorporating Telepractice in Outpatient Settings and Private Practice.

OBJECTIVE: Technology continuously advances with new innovations and the evolution of existing devices, requiring health service providers to adapt and keep up with these changes in order to provide optimal services to their patients. Expertise limited to a single technological modality or device will quickly become outdated as new revisions, updates, and alternatives are released into the marketplace. METHODS: This article presents several of the critical concerns and issues practitioners must consider when evaluating their current and future uses of technology within their provision of outpatient or private practice services, particularly as it relates to direct care. Current literature and use of key telepractice resources, such as those from the American Telemedicine Association and the American Psychological Association, are presented, to provide practitioners with advanced knowledge and considerations for evaluating technology within their own practice settings. RESULTS: Practitioners can be prepared to remain on top of this "arms race" of technology when they focus on the critical issues related to the selection and use of technology devices, applications, and modes of use; for example, Internet, phone, email, or text message. Two vignettes illustrate how practitioners may implement technology in their practices. CONCLUSIONS: Technology can be readily incorporated into outpatient settings to augment practitioners' delivery of health services and improve their experience in clinical practice.

Prescriptive authority and psychology: a status report.

The progress of psychology toward the acquisition of prescriptive authority is critically reviewed. Advances made by other nonphysician health care professions toward expanding their scopes of practice to include prescriptive authority are compared with gains made by professional psychology. Societal trends affecting attitudes toward the use of psychotropic medications are reviewed, and the potential influence of such trends on the prescriptive authority movement is examined. A history of the prescriptive authority movement is documented, and recent legislative and policy initiatives are discussed.