Some might argue we live in the most beautiful state in the United States, with loads of sunshine, and I would agree, so why is it then that the leading cause of death in Colorado for children aged ten to eighteen has been identified as suicide? Digging deeper, when you take the entire population of Colorado into consideration, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death. The Mountain Communities of Colorado are often most impacted due to lack of resources and service providers and have the highest potential to suffer due to isolation.

In Colorado there are 71 federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for mental health alone. This means there are shortages of providers, facilities, and entire populations who do not have access to adequate mental health care. In Colorado this equates to 2,832,983 individuals who lack appropriate mental healthcare. In Denver alone the wait to see a psychiatrist can be up to five months. Even insured Coloradans struggle to find the mental health care they need, with only two in five receiving care. According to the 2022 State of Mental Health in America Report, Colorado ranks highest in prevalence of mental illness with the lowest access to care.

Is there a way out of this? What can be done to close some of the gaps? Fortunately, on March 3, 2023, Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado House Bill 1071. This bill aims to close some of the gaps in mental health care by allowing psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications to their clients. Is this a free ticket for every psychologist to haphazardly start writing scripts? The short answer is no. There are several steps a licensed psychologist must take in order to have prescriptive authority, some of which include having a Doctorate in Psychology, further and ongoing education, the completion of a Master of Science in Clinical Pharmacology, completion of supervised clinical experience, exams, peer reviews, Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners oversight, Drug Enforcement Agency registration, liability insurance, meticulous records, and they must disclose to their clients they are not licensed physicians. Colorado House Bill 1071 is scheduled to become law on Monday, August 7, 2023.

Opponents of this bill have suggested the outcome would be setting untrained individuals up to provide care that is out of the scope of their practice, and the possibility of over prescribing. More legitimate concerns center around the fact psychotropic medication impacts the entire body system, possibly impacting major organs and would need appropriate monitoring.

Early and quick access to medication and therapeutic intervention has been shown to decrease the number of deaths by suicide. To date five other states have already enacted a policy of allowing psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medication. These states are Idaho, Iowa, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Illinois. The U.S. Department of Defense, the US Air Force, the US Navy, and the US Army also allow psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medication allowing greater access to mental health care for military enlisted individuals. Statistics out of New Mexico, who has had this policy for over two decades, showed a 9.5% reduction in deaths by suicide, and Illinois showed a 39% decrease in deaths by suicide since implementing the ability for psychologists to prescribe psychotropics.

It has already been established that Colorado has a severe shortage of psychiatric providers. This bill becoming law has the potential to open access to mental health care to individuals who are historically underserved and isolated. For someone with no transportation, or who are struggling financially, this bill could make the difference for them to stay on medication and move closer towards accomplishing their mental health goals. The effect of not implementing this legislation would likely be more of the same level of care shortage, with the potential of a continued cycle of deteriorated mental health, repeat psychiatric hospital admissions, and a continued suicide crisis.

If we look at the number one cause of death among youth in Colorado being suicide, and suicide being the eighth leading cause of death among all Coloradans, this bill provides the opportunity to turn that crisis around with more access to services and the potential to achieve healthier outcomes later in life. Being able to reach the most vulnerable of our society with more avenues to gain the services they need in as many ways possible is the right thing to do. Let’s support what is right for Colorado.

To contact the author, email tasha.holtzman@gmail.com