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

The requirements of a physician to collaborate with a Pennsylvania NP (CRNP) include holding a current Pennsylvania medical license, being immediately available for consultation, and conducting regular chart reviews. A collaborating physician must have a valid Pennsylvania license to practice medicine¹ and be immediately available via direct communication or telecommunication, with oversight provided through a written collaborative agreement².

The collaborative agreement must outline key oversight elements such as a predetermined plan for emergency services, the physician’s immediate availability, regular chart and record review, and scheduled availability for referrals, standards of practice review (including consultation, chart review, and drug protocols), periodic updating in medical diagnosis and therapeutics, and cosigning records when necessary³².

If the NP has prescriptive authority, the separate prescriptive authority collaborative agreement must identify the collaborating physician(s) and at least one substitute physician, include license numbers, state the NP’s specialty, define the categories of drugs the NP may prescribe, specify how often the physician will personally see patients, and state the CRNP’s professional liability insurance coverage; this agreement must be reviewed and updated at least every two years⁴⁵.