A physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant must have an active license to practice that is not suspended, delinquent, or otherwise subject to a disciplinary order that specifically prohibits the licensee from entering into a prescriptive authority agreement.    

Note that if a licensee’s authority to supervise, delegate, or prescribe devices is limited under a board order, the licensee may enter into a prescriptive authority agreement and practice under the agreement only to the extent permitted by the board order.

Yes.  Prior to signing a prescriptive authority agreement, you must disclose to the other party/parties to the prescriptive authority agreement if you have been disciplined in the past.  This includes disciplinary action taken by licensing boards in other states.  Once you are a party to a prescriptive authority agreement, you are required to immediately notify the other party/parties to the agreement if you receive notice that you are the subject of an investigation.

It depends upon when the agreement was executed.  Note that there have been several changes to the law affecting this area in recent legislative sessions.  To understand how the law might apply to your situation, you may want to seek the advice of private legal counsel.

For a prescriptive authority agreement executed on or after September 1, 2019, the agreement must, at a minimum:

(1)  be in writing and reviewed, signed and dated by the parties to the agreement on an annual basis;

(2)  state the name, address, and all professional license numbers of the parties to the agreement;

(3)  state the nature of the practice, practice locations, or practice settings;

(4)  identify the types or categories of drugs or devices that may be prescribed or the types or categories of drugs or devices that may not be prescribed;

(5)  provide a general plan for addressing consultation and referral;

(6)  provide a plan for addressing patient emergencies;

(7)  state the general process for communication and the sharing of information related to the care and treatment of patients;

(8)  if alternate physician supervision is to be utilized, designate one or more alternate physicians; and

(9)  describe a prescriptive authority quality assurance and improvement plan and how it will be implemented. The plan must require chart reviews and periodic meetings.

No. Periodic meetings are required, regardless of the distance between or locations at which the physician and delegate(s) practice.

It depends upon when the agreement was executed.  Note that there have been several changes to the law affecting this area in recent legislative sessions.  To understand how the law might apply to your specific agreement, you may want to seek the advice of private legal counsel.

For agreements entered into on or after September 1, 2019, face-to-face meetings are no longer strictly required, and the manner in which the meetings may be conducted is to be determined by the parties to the agreement. This may include requiring participants’ physical presence in the same room, or remote methods, including meeting by telephone or video-conferencing.

Meetings must at a minimum:

• involve discussion of patient care improvement;
• include the sharing of information relating to patient treatment and care, needed changes in patient care plans, and issues relating to referrals; and
• be documented.

Yes, as agreed to by the parties to the prescriptive authority agreement.  You may meet more frequently than required by law.  You may not meet less frequently than what is required by law.

The law does not provide a specific number or percentage of charts that must be reviewed.  Rather, the law provides that the number of charts to be reviewed is determined by the parties to the prescriptive authority agreement.  The number may vary from one practice setting to another.  Factors such as the length of time the APRN or PA has been in practice, the length of time the physician and APRN or PA have practiced together, whether the parties to the prescriptive authority agreement practice together in the same practice setting, and the complexity of patient care needs should be given consideration when making this determination. That said, there has been no change in the law that requires that a physician must provide adequate supervision of delegates. In any given case, the number or percentage of charts reviewed may be an important factor in determining the quality of the physician’s supervision. 

It depends upon when the agreement was executed.  For prescriptive authority agreements entered into prior to September 1, 2019, factors such as the type of delegate licensure and amount of time spent practicing under an agreement determined the required frequency and manner of meetings.  For such agreements, the amount of time an APRN or PA practiced under the delegated prescriptive authority of a physician under a prescriptive authority agreement includes the amount of time practiced under the delegated prescriptive authority of that same physician prior to November 1, 2013. 

For agreements entered on or after September 1, 2019, the length of time that a delegate has practiced in a supervised prescriptive authority arrangement with a physician is no longer relevant to how often parties to the prescriptive authority agreement must meet.  Such participants must meet at least on a monthly basis, no matter the length of time spent practicing together under a prescriptive authority agreement.

The prescriptive authority agreement designates who may serve as an alternate physician if alternate physician supervision will be utilized.  If an alternate physician(s) will participate in the quality assurance and improvement meetings with the APRN or PA, this information must be included in the prescriptive authority agreement.

APRNs and PAs are required to have delegated authority from a licensed physician in order to provide medical aspects of patient care. Historically, this delegation has occurred through a protocol or other written authorization. Rather than requiring multiple documents, delegation protocols can now be included in one document the prescriptive authority agreement. The prescriptive authority agreement need not describe the exact steps that an advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant must take with respect to each specific condition, disease, or symptom, however.

Yes, if you are a physician or a physician assistant. 

Physicians are required to register all PAs and APRNs that they supervise prior to the delegates beginning to work for them.  If there is a change to the scope of the delegation, physicians must notify the Board within 30 days of this change.

PAs are likewise required to register their supervising physicians with the Board prior to beginning to practice under the employment or prescriptive authority agreement.  They are also required to notify the Board within 30 days of any change to the scope of the delegation. 

APRNs should look to guidance provided by the Texas Board of Nursing for how to register their delegating physicians, as the Medical Board does not have licensing authority for nurses.