A summary of Alaska’s collaboration, agreement, filing, supervision, prescribing, and specialty rules for PAs and the physicians who collaborate with them.
Collaborating Physician Required? Yes
Physician Involvement: High
Agreement Name: Collaborative plan
On-Site Requirements: Yes
Chart Review: Required, but no set number of charts
Controlled Substances: Allowed, Schedules II through V, with a federal DEA registration on file, registration with the state’s prescription drug monitoring database, and authorization documented in the collaborative plan
Reduced Supervision / Transition Requirements: No path to independent practice
Alaska PA Collaboration Requirements Summary
Alaska requires every PA to work with a collaborating physician under a written collaborative plan filed with the state. Physician involvement is high: the pair must have contact at least monthly, meet in person on a set schedule, and complete an annual in-person assessment, and every contact has to include review of patient care and records. PAs cannot practice independently in Alaska — a license without a collaborative plan on file is reissued as “not authorized to practice.” Distance matters here more than in most states: practicing 30 or more miles by road from the collaborating physician’s primary office triggers extra experience and filing requirements. This page covers Alaska’s rules on the collaborative relationship, the collaborative plan, board filing, ongoing compliance, prescribing, and specialty and telehealth requirements.
Source: 12 AAC 40.410
Type of Collaborative Relationship
Alaska requires PAs to practice under a collaborating physician, documented in a collaborative plan filed with the state. Physician involvement is high, and there is no route to fully independent practice. What eases with experience is remote-site practice: after two years of full-time clinical experience, a PA no longer has to complete the 160 supervised hours that newer PAs must complete to work at a remote location.
Source: 12 AAC 40.410(a)
What is a PA’s scope of practice in Alaska?
A PA’s authority in Alaska is set through the collaborative plan filed with the board and what the collaborating physician grants in it. The plan documents the physical location of practice and the prescriptive authority granted to the PA. A PA’s prescribing authority cannot exceed that of the primary collaborating physician.
Do PAs need a collaborating physician in Alaska?
Yes. The collaborative relationship must be documented on a collaborative plan using a form the board provides, and the plan must be on file with the state licensing division.
Can PAs practice independently in Alaska?
No. A PA must practice under a collaborative plan with a primary collaborating physician, and a license without a collaborative plan on file is reissued as “not authorized to practice” until a valid plan is filed.
How many PAs can a physician collaborate with in Alaska?
Alaska sets no limit on the number of PAs a physician may collaborate with.
Who can be a collaborating physician in Alaska?
A collaborating physician must hold a current, active, and unrestricted Alaska medical license and be in active practice. Active practice means at least 200 hours each year of practicing medicine with direct patient contact.
Are there proximity or in-person requirements in Alaska?
Yes, and they turn on distance. A remote practice location is one 30 or more miles by road from the collaborating physician’s primary office; a PA with less than two years of full-time clinical experience must work 160 hours in direct patient care under direct and immediate supervision to qualify for one, with the first 40 hours completed before starting there and the remaining 120 within 90 days. Regardless of location, the PA and physician must complete scheduled in-person visits and an annual in-person assessment at either work site.
Collaboration Agreement Requirements
Alaska’s written agreement is called a collaborative plan, and the state provides a required form rather than leaving the content open. The form is signed by the PA, the primary collaborating physician, and the alternate (back-up) physician. Alaska does not require the plan to be stored on-site and sets no fixed review or renewal schedule, but any change to the plan must be refiled.
Source: 12 AAC 40.410(a)
What must be included in a PA collaborative agreement in Alaska?
The collaborative plan must identify the people, the place, and the prescribing authority. It must include the name, license number, and specialty (if any) of the primary collaborating physician and at least one alternate collaborating physician; the PA’s name, place of employment, and residence and mailing addresses; the beginning date of employment and the physical location of practice; compliance with the remote practice location rules if that applies; and the prescriptive authority the collaborating physician is granting the PA.
What is the collaborative agreement called in Alaska?
It is called a collaborative plan. The state provides a required form, including a version covering authorization for prescriptive authority.
Who has to sign the collaborative agreement in Alaska?
The PA, the primary collaborating physician, and the alternate (back-up) physician all sign. Signatures are captured on the state’s collaborative plan form.
How often must the agreement be reviewed or renewed in Alaska?
Alaska sets no fixed review or renewal schedule for the collaborative plan. Any change to the plan must be filed with the state within 14 days of the change’s effective date.
Is a backup physician required in Alaska?
Yes. The collaborative plan must name at least one alternate collaborating physician, along with that physician’s license number and specialty, if any.
Board Filing Requirements
The collaborative plan must be filed with the state licensing division within 14 days after its effective date, and again within 14 days after any change. A PA may practice as soon as the plan is filed — the board’s receipt of the plan is treated as documented evidence that a collaborative plan exists. PAs headed for a remote practice location have additional documents to submit.
Source: 12 AAC 40.410(b),(c)
Do you have to file the collaborative agreement with the board in Alaska?
Yes, within 14 days after the plan’s effective date. A PA applying to practice at a remote practice location with two or more years of full-time clinical experience must also submit a detailed curriculum vitae showing their experience fits the assignment, plus a written recommendation and approval from the collaborating physician.
Can a PA start practicing as soon as they file in Alaska?
Yes. The board’s receipt of the collaborative plan is considered documented evidence of an established collaborative plan; separate approval is not required first.
What are the termination and notice requirements in Alaska?
Either the PA or the collaborating physician may cancel the collaborative plan, and written notice to the board is required. The notice should state clearly that the plan is being cancelled and whether a new plan will be submitted. A license without a collaborative plan on file is reissued as “not authorized to practice” until a valid plan is filed.
Collaboration Compliance
Once the collaborative plan is active, Alaska requires ongoing contact on a set schedule, review of patient care and records at every contact, and seven years of recordkeeping by the physician. The cadence depends on how long the plan has been in effect. There is no separate availability standard and no chart co-signature requirement.
Source: 12 AAC 40.430(e)–(l)
How many charts must a collaborating physician review in Alaska?
There is no set number of charts. Alaska requires that every contact between the PA and the collaborating physician — whether in person or by phone, radio, or other electronic means — include review of patient care and review of health care records. Chart co-signature is not required.
How often must a PA and collaborating physician meet in Alaska?
At least monthly, with in-person visits on top of that. Every collaborative plan requires at least monthly contact by phone, radio, electronic means, or in person; plans in effect under two years also require one in-person visit of at least four hours each calendar quarter, and plans in effect two years or more require two in-person visits per year of at least four hours each, at least four months apart. A PA who practices under a plan for a continuous period of less than three months per year needs only one in-person visit annually. Separately, an annual assessment must include in-person contact at either the physician’s or the PA’s work site.
How long must collaboration records be kept in Alaska?
At least seven years for the completed records of assessment form, measured from the date of the evaluation. The primary collaborating physician must also maintain records of performance assessments, which the board may audit. Dates of active practice under the plan and the monthly contacts must be documented.
Prescribing Rules
PAs in Alaska may prescribe, including controlled substances in Schedules II through V, but only with the primary collaborating physician’s authorization documented in the current collaborative plan on file. A PA’s prescribing authority cannot exceed the primary collaborating physician’s. Controlled-substance prescribing requires a federal DEA registration on file with the department; there is no separate state DEA registration.
Source: 12 AAC 40.450(a),(c),(d)
Can a PA prescribe controlled substances in Alaska?
Yes, with a valid DEA registration number on file with the department and the primary collaborating physician’s authorization documented in the current collaborative plan. The PA must also register with the state’s controlled substance prescription database. Alaska adds no heightened supervision requirement specific to controlled substances.
Can a PA prescribe Schedule II drugs in Alaska?
Yes. A PA with a valid DEA registration number may order, administer, dispense, and write prescriptions for Schedule II substances, but only with the primary collaborating physician’s authorization documented in the current collaborative plan on file.
What schedule drugs can a PA prescribe in Alaska?
Schedules II, III, IV, and V, plus non-controlled medications. Non-controlled prescribing also requires the primary collaborating physician’s authorization documented in the collaborative plan, and in no case may the PA’s prescribing authority exceed the collaborating physician’s.
Does a PA need a DEA license in Alaska?
Yes, a current federal DEA registration is required to prescribe, order, administer, or dispense controlled substances, and it must be on file with the department. Alaska does not require a separate state DEA registration. Every prescription a PA writes must show the primary collaborating physician’s name and DEA registration number alongside the PA’s name and DEA registration number.
Can a PA prescribe independently (without physician sign-off) in Alaska?
No. Both controlled and non-controlled prescribing require the primary collaborating physician’s authorization, documented in the PA’s current collaborative plan on file with the state.
Specialty & Telehealth Requirements
Alaska sets no telehealth-specific requirements and no specialty-specific requirements for PAs. The standard collaboration, agreement, filing, and prescribing rules apply across settings and specialties, including the in-person visit requirements — telehealth contact does not substitute for them.
Source: 12 AAC 40.430(e)–(i)
Are there telehealth or telemedicine requirements for PAs in Alaska?
No, Alaska sets no telehealth-specific requirement for PAs. Electronic contact does count toward the required monthly contact with the collaborating physician, but it does not replace the required in-person visits or the annual in-person assessment.
Are there specialty-specific requirements for PAs in Alaska?
No, Alaska sets no specialty-specific requirements for PAs.
Zivian gives you complete, real-time regulatory intelligence for NPs and PAs. Get step-by-step board-filing workflows, compliance and quality assurance tracking, and automatic alerts across all 50 states.
