Montana PA Collaboration Requirements Summary

Montana requires a PA with fewer than 8,000 hours of postgraduate clinical experience to practice under a collaborative agreement, and unusually, the collaborating provider can be either a licensed physician or a licensed PA who has 8,000 or more hours themselves. Physician involvement is standard rather than heavy: the collaborating provider gives direction and guidance and the PA consults with them, but the PA remains responsible for the care they provide. Chart review is required, though Montana leaves the frequency and amount to the practice. Nothing is filed with the board, and once a PA passes 8,000 hours the collaborative agreement requirement ends. This page covers Montana’s rules on the collaborative relationship, the collaborative agreement, board filing, ongoing compliance, prescribing, and specialty and telehealth requirements.

Source: Mont. Code Ann. 37-20-203(2)

Type of Collaborative Relationship

Montana requires a collaborative agreement only for PAs with fewer than 8,000 hours of postgraduate clinical experience. Within that relationship, both parties must be aware of the PA’s qualifications and limitations in caring for patients, the PA consults with the collaborating provider while remaining responsible for the care the PA provides, and the collaborating provider gives direction and guidance. Once a PA reaches 8,000 hours, the collaborative agreement requirement ends.

Source: Mont. Code Ann. 37-20-203(3)

What is a PA’s scope of practice in Montana?

Montana frames a PA’s practice around the PA’s own qualifications and limitations rather than a fixed task list. The PA and the collaborating provider must both be aware of those qualifications and limitations in caring for patients, and the PA practices under written policies and procedures established at the practice level.

Do PAs need a collaborating physician in Montana?

Yes, for the first 8,000 hours of postgraduate clinical experience. A PA below that threshold must practice with a collaborative agreement between the PA and one or more collaborating providers.

Can PAs practice independently in Montana?

Yes, once the PA has 8,000 or more hours of postgraduate clinical experience. Below that threshold, a collaborative agreement is required.

How many PAs can a physician collaborate with in Montana?

Montana sets no limit on the number of PAs a collaborating provider may work with.

Who can be a collaborating physician in Montana?

Either a licensed physician or a licensed PA with 8,000 or more hours of postgraduate clinical experience. Montana is one of the few states where an experienced PA can serve as the collaborating provider, and it sets no additional specialty or continuing education requirement.

Are there proximity or in-person requirements in Montana?

No, Montana sets no distance, travel, or on-site presence requirement. Montana also sets no standard for how quickly or by what means the collaborating provider must be reachable; how collaboration happens is described in the practice-level written policies and procedures.

Collaboration Agreement Requirements

Montana’s written agreement is called a collaborative agreement, and the state defines it as a relationship rather than prescribing a document’s contents. What must be written down sits at the practice level: written policies and procedures describing how collaboration will occur and the methods for evaluating the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills. Those policies and procedures, plus documentation of compliance, must be provided to the board on request. Montana provides no template, sets no signature requirement, requires no backup provider, and sets no on-site storage or renewal schedule.

Source: Mont. Code Ann. 37-20-203(4)

What must be included in a PA collaborative agreement in Montana?

Montana sets no concrete content list for the agreement itself, but the relationship must satisfy three conditions and the practice must have written policies and procedures. The conditions are that both parties are aware of the PA’s qualifications and limitations, that the PA consults with the collaborating provider while remaining responsible for their own care decisions, and that the collaborating provider gives direction and guidance. The written policies and procedures must describe how collaboration will occur and the methods for evaluating the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills.

What is the collaborative agreement called in Montana?

It is called a collaborative agreement. Montana provides no state template.

Who has to sign the collaborative agreement in Montana?

Montana’s rules do not state who must sign the collaborative agreement.

How often must the agreement be reviewed or renewed in Montana?

Montana’s rules set no review or renewal schedule for the collaborative agreement.

Is a backup physician required in Montana?

No, Montana sets no backup or alternate provider requirement. A collaborative agreement may name more than one collaborating provider.

Board Filing Requirements

Montana requires no board filing for the collaborative relationship. The collaborative agreement is not submitted to the board, no additional documents are required, there is no recurring filing, and no notice is required when the relationship ends. The board can ask to see the practice-level written policies and procedures and documentation of compliance, but only on request.

Do you have to file the collaborative agreement with the board in Montana?

No. Montana does not require the collaborative agreement to be filed, and no additional documents are required. The PA must provide a copy of the practice’s written policies and procedures, plus documentation of compliance, to the board on the board’s request.

Can a PA start practicing as soon as they file in Montana?

There is nothing to file for the collaborative relationship, so no waiting period applies. A PA needs a Montana license and, below 8,000 hours, a collaborative agreement with one or more collaborating providers.

What are the termination and notice requirements in Montana?

Montana sets no termination or notice requirement when a collaborative relationship ends. There is also no grace period provision for an unexpected termination.

Collaboration Compliance

Montana requires chart review but leaves the numbers to the practice: frequency and amount are determined at the practice level and described in the collaboration agreement. The other continuing obligation is evaluation — the practice’s written policies and procedures must describe methods for assessing the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills. Montana sets no meeting cadence, no chart co-signature requirement, no availability standard, and no records retention period.

Source: Mont. Admin. Rules 24.156.1623

How many charts must a collaborating physician review in Montana?

Chart review is required, but Montana prescribes no amount. Frequency and amount are determined at the practice level and set out in the collaboration agreement. Chart co-signature is not required.

How often must a PA and collaborating physician meet in Montana?

Montana sets no required meeting cadence. The practice’s written policies and procedures must describe how collaboration will occur and how the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills will be evaluated.

How long must collaboration records be kept in Montana?

Montana sets no retention period for collaboration records. The PA must be able to provide the practice’s written policies and procedures and documentation of compliance to the board when the board asks for them.

Prescribing Rules

PAs in Montana may prescribe, dispense, and administer controlled substances, and a PA authorized to do so must maintain federal DEA registration. Schedule II carries a specific ceiling: prescribing, dispensing, and administration of Schedule II drugs may be authorized only for limited periods not exceeding 34 days. Montana requires no state controlled-substance registration, adds no other conditions on prescriptive authority, and sets no prescription form requirements.

Source: Mont. Code Ann. 37-20-404(3)(b)

Can a PA prescribe controlled substances in Montana?

Yes, and a PA authorized to prescribe controlled substances must maintain registration with the federal DEA. Montana requires no state controlled-substance registration and adds no heightened supervision requirement specific to controlled substances.

Can a PA prescribe Schedule II drugs in Montana?

Yes, but only for limited periods not exceeding 34 days. That cap applies to prescribing, dispensing, and administration of Schedule II drugs alike.

What schedule drugs can a PA prescribe in Montana?

Montana addresses Schedule II specifically, capping it at limited periods of no more than 34 days, and does not set separate limits schedule by schedule beyond that. Federal DEA registration is required for controlled-substance prescribing at any schedule.

Does a PA need a DEA license in Montana?

Yes, a PA authorized to prescribe controlled substances must maintain federal DEA registration. Montana requires no separate state registration and sets no prescription form or prescription pad requirements.

Can a PA prescribe independently (without physician sign-off) in Montana?

Montana requires no physician sign-off, co-signature, or prescription-level review. Below 8,000 hours, prescribing sits within a collaborative relationship in which the collaborating provider gives direction and guidance, and the 34-day Schedule II cap applies regardless of experience.

Specialty & Telehealth Requirements

Montana’s master regulatory data does not address telehealth-specific or specialty-specific requirements for PAs. The standard collaboration, chart review, and prescribing rules apply across settings and specialties.

Are there telehealth or telemedicine requirements for PAs in Montana?

Montana sets no telehealth-specific requirement for PAs in the master regulatory data. Montana also sets no in-person or proximity requirement that telehealth would need an exemption from.

Are there specialty-specific requirements for PAs in Montana?

Montana sets no specialty-specific requirements for PAs in the master regulatory data. How collaboration works in a given setting is described in the practice’s written policies and procedures.