STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3427

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 34

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 34 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HAWAII MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AND HAWAII PSYCHIATRIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION TO CONVENE A ROUNDTABLE TO ESTABLISH MEDICAL PROTOCOLS TO ENSURE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S THYROID FUNCTION IS TESTED BEFORE PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATIONS FOR MENTAL ILLNESS ARE PRESCRIBED,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Hawaii Medical Association and Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association to convene a roundtable to establish medical protocols to ensure that an individual's thyroid function is tested before any psychotropic medications for mental health illness are prescribed.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Disability Rights Center and three individuals.

Your Committee finds that doctors and others who have prescriptive authority often appropriately prescribe psychotropic medications to treat mental illness. However, sometimes untreated thyroid conditions can also result in exhibiting symptoms similar to mental illness. Some individuals have been prescribed psychotropic medications without first testing for the presence of a thyroid condition, and for those individuals who did have a thyroid condition, the psychotropic medications the individuals received were either ineffective or potentially harmful. Your Committee additionally finds that testing for abnormal thyroid levels is a simple process that can be done through a blood test. Accordingly, this measure promotes best practices to ensure root causes are addressed through proper testing and to educate providers to improve access to care.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 34 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

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JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair