What are the requirements of a physician to collaborate with a Ohio NP?

To collaborate with an Ohio NP, a physician must be licensed to practice medicine in Ohio, practice in the same or similar specialty as the APRN, be continuously available for communication, and enter into a written Standard Care Arrangement with the NP that meets statutory and rule requirements¹²³⁴. If the physician has standard care arrangements with more than five APRNs, they may not collaborate at the same time with more than five APRNs in the prescribing component of their practices⁴.

The Standard Care Arrangement must include at minimum⁵:

• Signatures of the APRN and each collaborating physician (or the physician’s designee), execution date, and most recent review date;
• Names, specialties/practice areas, business addresses, and 24/7 contact numbers for the parties;
• A statement of APRN services and a description of the scope of prescriptive practice;
• A plan for incorporating new technology or procedures consistent with scope;
• Quality assurance provisions (re-approval requirements when modified; referral criteria; a process for physician consultation; and processes for chart review, prescribing-pattern review, and patient care evaluation);
• A plan for patient coverage during emergencies or planned absences; and a process to resolve disagreements on patient management;
• Prescribing quality assurance provisions, including timely direct, personal evaluation by the physician or designee when indicated; prescribing parameters; provisions for Schedule II controlled substances; provisions for prescribing opioid analgesics to minors (if applicable); and provisions for obtaining and reviewing OARRS reports.

Additionally, the quality assurance process must include periodic random chart review, including prescribing patterns and Schedule II prescribing (if indicated), at least annually by the collaborating physician, along with opportunity for discussion and a process for patient care evaluation⁶. If the physician terminates collaboration before the Standard Care Arrangement expires, the physician must provide written or electronic notice of termination to the APRN⁷.