Physician assistants are nationally certified and state-licensed medical professionals, and practice on health care teams with physicians and other providers. They are formally trained to examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses and provide treatment.
The links to the right lead to maps showing a comparison of all states and territories for the following three policy areas:
1) supervision requirements
2) prescriptive authority
3) scope of practice determination
Choose a tab to explore different options. For more detailed information, please click on a state or territory.
Physician Assistants:
Supervision Requirements
Mobile users can use this dropdown of states if the map is too small.
LEGEND
- Supervision or collaboration not required
- Supervision with a physician required
- Collaboration allowed with a physician
- Information is not currently available
Supervision requirements focus on the need for a written collaborative agreement with a physician that can outline the procedures a physician assistant is allowed to perform. State policy specifies whether the supervisory relationship between the physician assistant and the physician is determined at the practice level (within the medical practice where the physician assistant will be practicing) or determined by the state medical board or in state law.
Policy areas for Physician Assistants
Scope of Practice Determination
Prescriptive Authority for Physician Assistants
Practitioner Scope of Practice
- Behavioral Health Providers
- Nurse Practitioners
- Optometrists
- Oral Health Providers
- Pharmacists
- Physician Assistants