Can an NP prescribe Lithium in Florida?

Yes — Florida nurse practitioners can prescribe lithium, a non-controlled psychiatric medication, when the prescription fits the NP’s licensure, specialty preparation, and authorized APRN practice framework.¹ Because lithium is not a controlled substance, Florida’s controlled-substance formulary and Schedule II supply limits are not the rules that determine this answer.

In Florida, an APRN generally prescribes drugs under an established protocol unless practicing under qualifying autonomous authority.¹ Autonomous APRN practice is limited to primary care,² and the Florida Board of Nursing has stated that autonomous mental health treatment is limited to treatment adjunct to general primary care.³ Lithium prescribing for psychiatric-specialty practice that is not within autonomous primary care should therefore be handled under an established supervisory protocol, rather than treated as covered by autonomous primary-care authority.