TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS HEALTH CARE CONSUMER ACT; TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "PSYCHIATRIC COLLABORATIVE CARE MODEL"; AND TO INCLUDE CERTAIN CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIC PHARMACIST SERVICES IN THE PSYCHIATRIC COLLABORATIVE CARE MODEL.

SB 309 amends the Arkansas Health Care Consumer Act to revise the definition of a "psychiatric collaborative care model." The bill updates the specific dates referenced for the evidence-based integrated behavioral health service delivery method. It expands the primary care team within this model to include individuals providing clinical psychiatric pharmacist services. These pharmacists must hold an accredited pharmacy degree, maintain a good standing license, and either utilize a disease state management protocol with a supervising provider or provide independent consulting services. This change broadens the types of healthcare professionals who can participate in collaborative psychiatric care.