PharmD · Pennsylvania
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management for Pharmacists in Pennsylvania
Yes, a written agreement with a physician is required before you manage drug therapy. Pennsylvania calls it a Collaborative Agreement.
Represents Pennsylvania's Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) tier (Pharmacy Act § 9.3, added 2010), not ordinary licensure — base dispensing needs no physician agreement and is out of scope here. Participation is voluntary for both parties; CDTM scope is permanently agreement-based with no independence pathway.
What the collaboration must look like
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
Not codified — left to the agreement
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Controlled-substance schedule limits for CDTM are not spelled out; treat them as uncertain rather than unrestricted.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Non-licensee ownership permitted — No pharmacist-ownership requirement for standard pharmacy permits; materially more permissive than the physician-only corporate-practice rules, with a licensed pharmacist-in-charge as the typical control safeguard rather than an ownership restriction
Sources for the supervision rules (1)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Pennsylvania
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Pharmacist. Standard-tier state.
About Pennsylvania's rules
Pennsylvania has no independent-practice pathway for CRNPs — SB 25-style full-practice-authority bills have been introduced every session without passing. PA (physician assistant) reform via Acts 78/79 of 2021 removed prior Board pre-approval of written agreements and the flat 100%-countersignature rule after the first year, but a written agreement and supervision remain mandatory. PA is a CPOM state: only licensed physicians may own a medical professional corporation.
Other clinicians in Pennsylvania: see the state overview.