SAMPLE LETTER TO GOVERNOR
[DATE]
The Honorable [FULL NAME]
Office of the Governor
[ADDRESS]
Dear Governor [LAST NAME]:
As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I am writing to strongly request that you veto [BILL
NUMBER], which would allow psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications. While it is
certainly true that there is a shortage of professionals to care for those with mental illness, including
child and adolescent psychiatrists, allowing psychologists to prescribe medications will not improve
access to quality mental health care. Rather, it will compromise the safety of patients in [NAME OF
STATE] and adversely affect the quality of care they receive.
Psychologists are not trained to understand, assess, and monitor a patient’s medical condition as a
whole, and research has shown a consistent lack of evidence about the safety of granting them
prescription privileges. Psychotropic medications used to treat mental illness are among the most
powerful in modern medicine and they affect all parts of the body, not only the brain. These
medications can have serious side effects if they are improperly prescribed by anyone other than a
trained physician, such as convulsions, epilepsy, heart arrhythmia, blood disease, seizures, coma,
stroke and even death. Half of all patients taking a brain medication have another major illness that
requires medication, creating potential for drug interactions.
Child and adolescent psychiatrists are physicians with at least five years of additional training beyond
medical school. At a minimum, we receive 10,000 – 12,000 hours of training in pharmacology in
order to treat mental health disorders. This enables us to understand a patient’s complete medical
history; perform a medical exam; prescribe the appropriate medication at a safe dosage level; and avoid
potentially fatal drug interactions. This is especially true when prescribing for children and
adolescents. Without adequate medical training and education, psychologists do not have the
knowledge and experience necessary to safely prescribe medications.
For the reasons listed above, I urge you to veto [BILL NUMBER]. I would be pleased to supply
additional information on this issue and answer any questions you may have. You may contact me at
[CONTACT INFORMATION].
Sincerely,
[NAME], M.D.
[TITLE, ORGANIZATION]