Amends TCA Title 53 and Title 63.

This bill authorizes dental hygienists to prescribe fluoride agents, topical oral anesthetic agents, and nonsystemic oral antimicrobials that:<br /> <br /> (1) Are not controlled substances under state and federal drug laws; and<br /> (2) Do not require a license from the federal drug enforcement agency.<br /> <br /> The prescriptive authority by dental hygienists must be exercised under the general supervision of a licensed dentist or under supervision as part of an authorized public health program and must be pursuant to rules promulgated by the board of dentistry.<br /> <br /> This bill requires the board to determine educational and training requirements necessary for the exercise of this prescriptive authority and the percentage of fluoride, chlorhexidine gluconate, or any other active ingredient in any medication that a dental hygienist may prescribe. <br /> <br /> ON APRIL 17, 2019, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 657, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 revises this bill, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) Clarifies that the authorization to prescribe, as described above in (2) of the bill summary, does not extend to agents and antimicrobials that require a license "to prescribe";<br /> <br /> (2) Removes authorization for prescriptive authority "under supervision as part of an authorized public health program"; under this amendment, prescriptive authority may only be exercised under the general supervision of a licensed dentist only;<br /> <br /> (3) Requires that a prescription written by a dental hygienist pursuant to this bill be reviewed by a licensed dentist within 30 days; and<br /> <br /> (4) Removes the reference to "chlorhexidine gluconate" in the list of active ingredients in medication that may be prescribed.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 22, 2019, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 657 FOR SENATE BILL 609, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 657, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 revises this bill, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) Removes authorization for prescriptive authority "under supervision as part of an authorized public health program"; under this amendment, prescriptive authority may only be exercised under the general supervision of a licensed dentist;<br /> <br /> (2) Requires that a prescription written by a dental hygienist be reviewed by a dentist within 30 days;<br /> <br /> (3) Removes the reference to "chlorhexidine gluconate" in the list of active ingredients in medication that may be prescribed; and<br /> <br /> (4) Changes the effective date from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2020, for all purposes other than rulemaking.<br /> <br />