A summary of Florida’s collaboration, agreement, filing, supervision, prescribing, and specialty rules for PAs and the physicians who collaborate with them.
Collaborating Physician Required? Yes
Physician Involvement: Standard
Agreement Name: Written protocol
On-Site Requirements: None routinely
Chart Review: No fixed count
Controlled Substances: Allowed. Schedule II is capped at a 7-day supply (14-day for psychiatric mental health drugs for patients under 18, under specified specialty supervision). PAs may not prescribe general, spinal, or epidural anesthetics or radiographic contrast materials.
Reduced Supervision / Transition Requirements: None
Florida PA Collaboration Requirements Summary
Florida requires every PA to work under a supervising (collaborating) physician, and there is no independent PA practice. Physician involvement is standard: the physician must be easily available to the PA (or physically present) and must periodically review the PA’s performance, though routine on-site presence generally is not required. PAs cannot practice independently in Florida, and the state sets no hours- or years-based path to reduced supervision. This page covers Florida’s rules on supervision, the collaborative agreement, board filing, ongoing compliance, prescribing, and specialty and telehealth requirements.
Source: Fla. Stat. § 458.347
Type of Collaborative Relationship
Florida requires PAs to practice under a supervising physician who is qualified in the medical areas where the PA works, and physician involvement is standard. There is no route to fully independent practice and no hours-based path to reduced supervision. A PA’s duties come from what the physician delegates through a written protocol.
Source: Fla. Stat. § 458.347(3)
What is a PA’s scope of practice in Florida?
A PA’s scope of practice is set by the medical duties the supervising physician delegates through a written protocol. The physician may delegate only tasks and drugs used in the physician’s own practice, and the PA works within the physician’s area of qualification.
Do PAs need a collaborating physician in Florida?
Yes. Every PA in Florida must have a supervising physician who is qualified in the medical areas where the PA practices; there is no independent practice.
Can PAs practice independently in Florida?
No. Florida requires physician supervision at all times, and there is no autonomous or independent practice option for PAs.
How many PAs can a physician collaborate with in Florida?
A physician may supervise up to 10 licensed PAs at one time. Florida also limits how many offices away from the physician’s primary site a PA may staff: up to four additional offices for primary care, two for specialty care, and one for practices that are primarily dermatologic or aesthetic skin care.
Who can be a collaborating physician in Florida?
A supervising physician must be qualified in the medical areas in which the PA will practice.
Are there proximity or in-person requirements in Florida?
Generally no. The supervising physician must be easily available to the PA (or physically present), but routine on-site supervision is not required. One exception: a PA practicing primarily dermatologic or aesthetic skin care at an office away from the physician’s primary site must be within 75 miles of it.
Collaboration Agreement Requirements
Florida requires a written protocol between the supervising physician and the PA, but the state does not spell out what the protocol must contain and provides no template. There is no signature, on-site storage, or review-frequency requirement for the agreement itself.
Source: Fla. Stat. § 458.347(4)(d)
What must be included in a PA collaborative agreement in Florida?
Florida requires a written protocol but does not set specific content requirements for it. The statute authorizes the physician to delegate duties to the PA through that written protocol without listing mandatory terms.
What is the collaborative agreement called in Florida?
It is called a written protocol.
Who has to sign the collaborative agreement in Florida?
Florida sets no signature requirement for the written protocol.
How often must the agreement be reviewed or renewed in Florida?
Florida sets no review or renewal requirement for the agreement itself.
Is a backup physician required in Florida?
No, Florida sets no backup physician requirement.
Board Filing Requirements
Florida does not require the written protocol itself to be filed, but before a physician delegates prescribing authority to a PA, the physician must notify the state on an approved form. A PA may begin practicing once that notice is on file — no separate approval is needed. Florida sets no recurring filing requirement.
Source: Fla. Stat. § 458.347(4)(e)(2)
Do you have to file the collaborative agreement with the board in Florida?
No, the written protocol itself does not have to be filed. Before delegating prescribing authority, though, the supervising physician must notify the state on an approved form, and must also report any change in the PA’s prescribing privileges.
Can a PA start practicing as soon as they file in Florida?
Yes. The physician’s notice of intent to delegate is valid upon filing, so a PA may begin once the required notice is on file. Florida does not require separate board pre-approval.
What are the termination and notice requirements in Florida?
Florida does not require a separate termination notice. The state’s notification form does let a supervising physician withdraw a PA’s prescribing authority when the arrangement changes.
Collaboration Compliance
Once supervision is active, Florida requires the physician to be easily available to the PA and to periodically review the PA’s performance, but it sets no fixed meeting cadence, chart-review count, or recordkeeping schedule. Co-signing the PA’s charts is explicitly not required.
Source: Fla. Admin. Code r. 64B8-30.001(3)
How many charts must a collaborating physician review in Florida?
Florida sets no fixed chart count. The supervising physician must periodically review the PA’s performance, and co-signing the PA’s charts is explicitly not required.
How often must a PA and collaborating physician meet in Florida?
Florida sets no fixed meeting cadence. The physician must remain easily available to the PA and periodically review the PA’s performance.
How long must collaboration records be kept in Florida?
Florida sets no specific recordkeeping requirement for collaboration records.
Prescribing Rules
PAs in Florida may prescribe and dispense medicinal drugs, including controlled substances, but only those drugs used in the supervising physician’s own practice, and only after the physician has notified the state of the delegation. Schedule II prescribing is capped by day-supply limits, and a few categories of drugs are off-limits to PAs entirely.
Source: Fla. Admin. Code r. 64B8-30.008
Can a PA prescribe controlled substances in Florida?
Yes. PAs may prescribe controlled substances, subject to limits — most notably day-supply caps on Schedule II drugs. PAs may not prescribe general, spinal, or epidural anesthetics or radiographic contrast materials.
Can a PA prescribe Schedule II drugs in Florida?
Yes, but with strict day-supply limits. Most Schedule II drugs are capped at a 7-day supply. Schedule II psychiatric mental health drugs may be prescribed only as a 14-day supply, only for patients under 18, and only if the PA is supervised by a pediatrician, family practice physician, internal medicine physician, or psychiatrist.
What schedule drugs can a PA prescribe in Florida?
PAs may prescribe controlled substances across the schedules along with non-controlled medications, limited to drugs used in the supervising physician’s practice. Schedule II is subject to the day-supply limits above, and general, spinal, or epidural anesthetics and radiographic contrast materials are excluded.
Does a PA need a DEA license in Florida?
Florida’s rules do not set a separate state-level controlled-substance registration for PAs. A PA still needs a federal DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances, but Florida does not add its own state controlled-substance registration on top of it.
Can a PA prescribe independently (without physician sign-off) in Florida?
No. A PA may prescribe only what the supervising physician has delegated through the written protocol, and only drugs used in the physician’s own practice, so prescribing is not independent.
Specialty & Telehealth Requirements
Florida sets no specific telehealth or telemedicine requirement for PAs in its master rules, but it does have specialty-specific rules — chiefly for practices that are primarily dermatologic or aesthetic skin care. Those practices face tighter office and distance limits than general or specialty medical practices.
Source: Fla. Stat. § 458.348(3)
Are there telehealth or telemedicine requirements for PAs in Florida?
No, Florida sets no specific telehealth or telemedicine requirement for PAs.
Are there specialty-specific requirements for PAs in Florida?
Yes. Practices that are primarily dermatologic or aesthetic skin care face tighter limits: the physician may supervise a PA at only one office away from the primary site, and that office must be within 75 miles of it. Specialty (referral-based) practices are limited to two additional offices, versus four for primary care.
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