Letter: Bill will endanger patients with mental illness

I have been a psychiatrist in Cedar Rapids for over 30 years and continue to serve the mentally ill as medical director of Mercy Behavioral Health and in facilities in Eastern Iowa such as Penn Center, Cedar Valley Ranch and Chatham Oaks.

In the waning days of the current session of the Iowa Legislature, there has been a move afoot that endangers patients with mental illness. The Senate on April 7 passed an amended version of SF 2188, a bill that gives psychologists with minimal medical training the right to write prescriptions for psychotropic medications. Unlike a previous bill that outlined medical training of less than 12 few weeks, this bill does not even specify the amount of training needed and lets non-medical professionals determine what that education should look like.

Psychiatrists complete about nine years of biomedical education and training after college, including medical school and residency, have the expertise to prescribe medications. So do physicians' assistants and ARNPs. Both undergo more medical training than is being proposed for psychologists and have undergraduate training in physical health.

It is true that we need to provide more mental health services in Iowa, particularly in rural Iowa. However, giving prescription pads to more providers is not the answer and will not help. Telemedicine and integrative care is an answer used by Mercy Medical Center that teams psychiatrists with primary care doctors, psychologists, physicians' assistants, nurses and mental health counselors. Both methods are safer, more effective ways to treat Iowans with mental illness.

Alan Whitters

Solon