Oregon PA Collaboration Requirements Summary

Oregon requires every PA to have a collaboration agreement before practicing medicine, but the agreement is explicitly not a supervision arrangement: it does not assign supervisory responsibility to the physician or represent that the physician accepts legal responsibility for the PA’s care. The agreement can be entered into with a physician, a podiatric physician, or the PA’s employer. Involvement is highest for a PA with fewer than 2,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience, who must have a plan setting a minimum number of collaboration hours each month; past 2,000 hours that plan comes out of the agreement. Nothing is filed with the Oregon Medical Board — the agreement stays at the PA’s primary practice location and is produced on request. This page covers Oregon’s rules on the collaborative relationship, the collaboration agreement, board filing, ongoing compliance, prescribing, and specialty and telehealth requirements.

Source: O.R.S. 677.510(2)(a)

Type of Collaborative Relationship

Oregon requires a collaboration agreement rather than a supervising relationship — a PA may not practice medicine without one, but the agreement does not assign supervisory responsibility to, or represent acceptance of legal responsibility by, the physician for the care the PA provides. Involvement is high for a PA’s first 2,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience, when the agreement must set a minimum number of collaboration hours per month, and drops once the PA passes that threshold. Note that Oregon’s newer rules refer to the profession as physician associates; the requirements are the same.

Source: O.R.S. 677.495(2)

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

A PA’s practice in Oregon runs through the collaboration agreement, which describes the manner in which the PA collaborates with physicians. The agreement must give a general description of the PA’s collaboration process, including any differences in that process based on practice location.

Do PAs need a collaborating physician in Oregon?

Yes. A PA may not practice medicine unless they have entered into a collaboration agreement signed by a physician, a podiatric physician, or the PA’s employer.

Can PAs practice independently in Oregon?

No, a collaboration agreement is required before a PA may practice medicine. That said, Oregon’s model is closer to independent practice than most states: the agreement expressly does not assign supervisory responsibility to the physician, and there is no on-site requirement, availability standard, chart review, or co-signature requirement.

How many PAs can a physician collaborate with in Oregon?

Oregon sets no limit on the number of PAs a physician may collaborate with.

Who can be a collaborating physician in Oregon?

A physician licensed in Oregon. Oregon sets no additional experience, specialty, or continuing education requirement. A podiatric physician or the PA’s employer may also be the party to the collaboration agreement.

Are there proximity or in-person requirements in Oregon?

No, Oregon sets no distance, travel, or on-site presence requirement, and no standard for how quickly the physician must be reachable. The one in-person element applies to newer PAs: a PA with fewer than 2,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience must have a plan for a minimum number of hours per month of collaboration, both in person and through technology, with a specified physician.

Collaboration Agreement Requirements

Oregon’s written agreement is called a collaboration agreement, and the state provides a form. It must identify the PA by name, license number, and primary practice location, name the physician or employer entering the agreement, and give a general description of the PA’s collaboration process, including any differences based on practice location. A PA with fewer than 2,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience must also include a plan for consistent, quality collaboration setting the minimum hours per month. The agreement must be available at the PA’s primary practice location and reviewed as part of each performance assessment.

Source: OAR 847-050-0082(2)

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

Four things: the PA’s name, license number, and primary location of practice; the name of the physician or employer entering the agreement; a general description of the PA’s process for collaborating with physicians, including any differences based on practice location; and, if the PA has fewer than 2,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience, a plan for consistent and quality collaboration setting the minimum number of hours per month, both in person and through technology, with a specified physician. Oregon provides a state form.

What is the collaborative agreement called in Oregon?

It is called a collaboration agreement.

Who has to sign the collaborative agreement in Oregon?

The PA and the physician, podiatric physician, or employer entering the agreement. A PA may not practice medicine without a collaboration agreement carrying those signatures.

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

At each performance assessment. As part of the required performance assessment, the collaboration agreement must be reviewed and, where applicable, updated. The agreement must also be amended in writing to remove or modify the monthly collaboration plan once a PA reaches 2,000 hours.

Is a backup physician required in Oregon?

No, Oregon sets no backup or alternate physician requirement.

Board Filing Requirements

Oregon requires no board filing for the collaborative relationship. Collaboration agreements are not filed with the Oregon Medical Board; instead the agreement must be available at the PA’s primary location of practice and produced to the Board on request. There are no additional documents to file, no recurring filing, and no notice requirement when the relationship ends. Even the move past 2,000 hours involves no board submission.

Source: OAR 847-050-0082(7)

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

No. Collaboration agreements are not filed with the Oregon Medical Board. The agreement must be available at the PA’s primary practice location and made available to the Board on request.

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

There is nothing to file for the collaborative relationship, so no waiting period applies. A PA needs an Oregon license and a signed collaboration agreement in place before practicing medicine.

What are the termination and notice requirements in Oregon?

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

Collaboration Compliance

Oregon’s ongoing obligations center on performance assessment rather than record review. A performance assessment of the PA must occur, and Oregon expressly allows the PA’s employer to complete it under a process the employer establishes. For a PA with fewer than 2,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience, the agreed monthly collaboration hours are the other continuing obligation. Oregon sets no chart review count, no chart co-signature, no availability standard, no supervision documentation requirement, and no records retention period.

Source: O.R.S. 677.510(4)

How many charts must a collaborating physician review in Oregon?

None — Oregon requires no chart review. There is no chart co-signature requirement either. What is required is a performance assessment of the PA, which the PA’s employer may complete under the employer’s own assessment and review process.

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

For a PA with fewer than 2,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience, for the minimum number of hours each month set in the collaboration agreement. That time can be spent both in person and through technology. Once a PA passes 2,000 hours, Oregon sets no required cadence.

How long must collaboration records be kept in Oregon?

Oregon sets no retention period for collaboration records and requires no supervision documentation. The collaboration agreement itself must be available at the PA’s primary location of practice.

Prescribing Rules

PAs in Oregon may prescribe controlled substances with a federal DEA registration, and that DEA number must appear on controlled-substance prescriptions. Schedule II carries one extra condition: the PA must hold current certification from the National Commission for the Certification of Physician Assistants. Oregon requires no state controlled-substance registration, adds no other conditions on prescriptive authority, and sets no prescription form requirements.

Source: OAR 847-050-0041(3)

Can a PA prescribe controlled substances in Oregon?

Yes, with a federal DEA registration. The PA’s DEA number must be shown on prescriptions for controlled substances. Oregon adds no heightened supervision requirement specific to controlled substances.

Can a PA prescribe Schedule II drugs in Oregon?

Yes, if the PA holds current NCCPA certification. A PA may issue written or electronic Schedule II prescriptions, or emergency oral prescriptions followed by written authorization, provided that certification and the other prescribing requirements are met.

What schedule drugs can a PA prescribe in Oregon?

Oregon addresses Schedule II specifically, requiring current NCCPA certification, and otherwise permits controlled-substance prescribing with a federal DEA registration. Oregon’s master regulatory data does not set out separate limits schedule by schedule beyond the Schedule II certification requirement.

Does a PA need a DEA license in Oregon?

Yes, a federal DEA registration is required, and only the federal registration — Oregon has no state controlled-substance registration for PAs. The PA’s own DEA number must be shown on controlled-substance prescriptions. Oregon sets no prescription pad requirements.

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

Oregon requires no physician sign-off, co-signature, or prescription-level review. Prescribing does depend on the PA having a collaboration agreement in place in order to practice medicine at all, plus a federal DEA registration and, for Schedule II, current NCCPA certification.

Specialty & Telehealth Requirements

Oregon’s master regulatory data does not address telehealth-specific or specialty-specific requirements for PAs. Technology is built into the general rules: a newer PA’s required monthly collaboration hours may be met both in person and through technology.

Are there telehealth or telemedicine requirements for PAs in Oregon?

Oregon sets no telehealth-specific requirement for PAs in the master regulatory data. Oregon also sets no in-person or proximity requirement that telehealth would need an exemption from, and it expressly allows collaboration hours to be met through technology as well as in person.

Are there specialty-specific requirements for PAs in Oregon?

Oregon sets no specialty-specific requirements for PAs in the master regulatory data. The collaboration agreement must note any differences in the PA’s collaboration process based on practice location.