What must be in a Florida NP collaborative practice agreement?

A Florida NP collaborative practice agreement—called a supervisory protocol—must be established and kept onsite at each practice location, and in group practices it must be with at least one supervising physician¹. The Board no longer receives or reviews protocols; physicians only need to advise how many APRNs they supervise².

The content of the supervisory protocol is determined by the APRN and supervising physician, and the Board’s sample protocol suggests including key elements such as³:

• Parties’ names and addresses
• APRN certificate number; supervising physician’s license number
• DEA numbers, if applicable
• Nature of practice and practice locations (primary and satellite)
• Description of APRN duties/management areas and supervising physician duties
• Specific conditions and requirements for direct evaluation

Because prescribing occurs within the framework of the supervisory protocol, the agreement should delineate prescriptive authority consistent with Florida law—for example, APRNs may prescribe or dispense noncontrolled drugs within the protocol⁴; controlled substances may be prescribed only with requisite graduate training⁵ and Schedule II prescriptions are generally limited to a seven-day supply (except psychiatric medications)⁶. If the protocol permits the APRN to dispense medications for a fee, the APRN must register that dispensing with the Board of Nursing⁷.