Continuing education in prescribing controlled substances for certain health care practitioners; maintenance and detoxification treatment provided by physician assistants and advanced practice nurse prescribers; requiring school boards to provide instruction about drug abuse awareness and prevention; graduate training of psychiatric nurses; training materials for social services workers handling substance abuse-related cases; substance abuse counseling and modifying and creating administrative rules related to substance abuse counseling; granting rule-making authority; and making appropriations. (FE)

Under rules promulgated by the state Medical Examining Board, the practice of a physician assistant must be under the supervision of one or more physicians, and under rules promulgated by the state Board of Nursing, advanced practice nurse prescribers must work in a collaborative relationship with a physician.

This bill provides that, with respect to the ability of an advanced practice nurse prescriber or physician assistant to obtain and practice under a waiver, a physician who satisfies any of the criteria specified in federal law to be eligible to obtain a waiver is considered eligible to serve as a qualifying physician for purposes of the collaboration or supervision requirement under federal law, regardless of whether the physician himself or herself holds a waiver.

The bill prohibits the Department of Health Services from requiring prior authorization for or another limitation on prescribing and dispensing of buprenorphine combination products to a Medical Assistance recipient, who is not pregnant, by a health care provider who possesses a valid waiver, if the prior authorization or other limitation is not required under the federal law.

Substance abuse counseling This bill makes the following changes regarding substance abuse counseling:

1. Allows marriage and family therapists and professional counselors to represent themselves to the public as substance abuse counselors, clinical supervisors, or prevention specialists without holding a certification for that purpose granted by the Department of Safety and Professional Services.

2. Requires DSPS to grant a certification as a substance abuse counselor, clinical supervisor, or prevention specialist to an individual who holds a similar unexpired certification granted by another state that has requirements for certification that are not lower than this state's certification requirements.

3. Requires the secretary of DSPS to appoint an advisory behavioral health review committee to semiannually review the requirements for obtaining certain substance abuse counseling certifications; for obtaining credentials granted by the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board; and for obtaining other credentials related to behavioral health. Under the bill, the advisory committee is required to accept public comments related to its review and may propose changes in statutes and administrative rules to DSPS.

4. Allows a person certified as a social worker, advanced practice social worker, or independent social worker, within the scope of his or her credential, to treat substance use disorder as a specialty. In order to treat substance use disorder as a specialty, current law requires a person holding one of those certifications to satisfy additional criteria related to education and amount of supervised practice, and to complete continuing education every two years, or to obtain a substance abuse counselor, clinical supervisor, or prevention specialist certification from DSPS.

5. Specifies the contents required in an application for certification as a substance abuse counselor, clinical substance abuse counselor, intermediate or independent clinical supervisor, prevention specialist, substance abuse counselor-in-training, clinical supervisor-in-training, or prevention specialist-in-training.

6. Adds various actions to the scope of unprofessional conduct for which DSPS may discipline a substance abuse counselor or other related professional.

7. Specifies the requirements that a person with an expired substance abuse counselor or other related certification must satisfy to renew or reinstate an expired, surrendered, or revoked certification.

8. Specifies the contents required in an application to be approved by DSPS to provide education that satisfies the educational requirements for a substance abuse counselor or other related certification.

9. Specifies the continuing education requirements that a substance abuse counselor, clinical substance abuse counselor, prevention specialist, or clinical supervisor is required to satisfy in order to renew his or her certification.

Drug abuse awareness and prevention instruction This bill requires each school board to incorporate drug abuse awareness and prevention in its health instructional program. Current law requires school boards to provide instruction about the effects of controlled substances and alcohol on the human system, but a school board may not require a pupil to receive that instruction if the pupil's parent or guardian files a written objection. Current law also requires school boards to provide instruction to pupils on the relationship between highway safety and controlled substances and the relationship between youth suicide and controlled substances. This bill specifies that the references to controlled substances in these requirements include prescription drugs included in the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

Graduate psychiatric nursing education This bill requires the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, in consultation with the chancellor of UW-Madison, to do all of the following with respect to the graduate program in psychiatric mental health nursing at UW-Madison: 1) increase the number of students provided the opportunity to study to be board-eligible psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners; 2) expand the instructional capacity available to teach psychiatric mental health nursing; and 3) subject to certain student commitments, annually provide fellowships for psychiatric mental health nursing students to participate in clinical rotations in rural communities or areas with shortages of mental health professionals in this state.

The bill provides additional funding to the UW System for these purposes.

Training resources for social services workers This bill provides $50,000 of funding to the Department of Children and Families to develop and maintain online training resources for social services workers who deal with substance abuse-related cases.