Do NPs need a supervising physician in Ohio?

Yes. In Ohio, nurse practitioners need a supervising (collaborating) physician to practice; NPs must work under a standard care arrangement with each collaborating physician. Ohio law also requires the collaborating physician to be continuously available to communicate in person or electronically¹.

The standard care arrangement must include defined content such as the APRN’s services, scope of prescribing, quality assurance processes, emergency coverage, and provisions related to OARRS, among other elements²³. A copy of the arrangement must be kept on file by the APRN’s employer⁴. The collaborating physician must be licensed in Ohio and, except in psychiatric practice, generally practice in the same or similar specialty as the APRN; while physicians may enter into arrangements with more than five APRNs, they cannot collaborate at the same time with more than five APRNs in the prescribing component of practice⁵⁶⁷.

APRNs must submit the name and business address of each collaborating physician to the Board within 30 days of first engaging in collaboration and must report any additions or deletions within 30 days⁸⁹. If collaboration is terminated, the physician must provide written or electronic notice, and the APRN must notify the Board as soon as practicable by submitting the physician’s termination notice; if the physician dies, the APRN may continue practicing for up to 120 days before establishing a new collaboration¹⁰¹¹¹².