PharmD · South Carolina
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management for Pharmacists in South Carolina
Yes, a written agreement with a physician is required before you manage drug therapy. South Carolina calls it a Collaborative Practice Agreement.
Represents SC's Collaborative Practice Agreement (CPA) tier for medication-management services (Ch. 43), not ordinary dispensing licensure, which is out of scope here. The CPA framework is codified but implementation is contingent on the Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medical Examiners finalizing regulations governing its use — confirm those regulations are in effect before relying on this.
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 · no controlled-substance authority
§ 40-43-30's CPA definition covers 'evidence-based medication management services' delegated by the physician (for example monitoring, education and assessments for identified patients); no provision authorizes independent controlled-substance prescribing under a CPA, so controlled substances are shown as not allowed.
Written agreement
Required
The written CPA itself is defined in statute (§40-43-30), but by that same statute's terms 'collaborative practice agreements may not be implemented until' Board regulations governing their use take effect — verify current implementation status with the Board of Pharmacy.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Non-licensee ownership permitted — No pharmacist-ownership requirement for a general pharmacy permit; large non-pharmacist-owned chain pharmacies operate openly in South Carolina
A pharmacist-in-charge safeguard, not an ownership restriction, is the typical control mechanism; check Ch. 43 for the specific provision.
Sources for the supervision rules (2)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in South Carolina
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Pharmacist. Standard-tier state.
About South Carolina's rules
A physician may not hold practice agreements/scope-of-practice guidelines with more than a COMBINED 6 full-time-equivalent PA+NP+CNM+CNS at once (§40-47-195(D)(1)(c)) — a single shared cap, not four separate ones. A widely-repeated '3 PA' cap was repealed in 2019 (Act 32). SC remains restricted-practice for APRNs; a 2,000-hour full-practice-authority bill (S.45/H.3580) is pending, not yet law.
Other clinicians in South Carolina: see the state overview.