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Practitioner:

Physician Assistants: Scope of Practice Determination

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:
Scope of Practice Determination

Mobile users can use this dropdown of states if the map is too small.

LEGEND

  • SOP determined at the practice level
  • SOP determined by the State Medical Board or law
  • Information is not currently available

Scope of practice determination refers to whether a physician assistant’s scope of practice is determined at the practice level between the physician assistant and the collaborating physician. In some states, the state medical board or state law determines a physician assistant’s scope of practice.

Policy areas for Physician Assistants

Supervision Requirements

Scope of Practice Determination

Prescriptive Authority for Physician Assistants


Practitioner Scope of Practice

  • Behavioral Health Providers
  • Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
  • Optometrists
  • Oral Health Providers
  • Pharmacists
  • Physician Assistants

Physician Assistants Overview

Learn More About Physician Assistants

For More Information

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Acknowledgement and Disclaimer: This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under UD3OA22893, National Organizations for State and Local Officials. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. government.

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