PharmD · Washington
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management for Pharmacists in Washington
Yes, a written agreement with a physician is required before you manage drug therapy. Washington calls it a Collaborative Drug Therapy Agreement.
Represents Washington's Collaborative Drug Therapy Agreement (CDTA) tier — one of the broadest CDTA frameworks in the U.S. (WAC 246-945-350; RCW 18.64.011) — not ordinary pharmacist licensure. A CDTA is voluntary/negotiated with any WA-licensed prescriber and must be filed with the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission and kept at the practice site; no numeric per-prescriber cap was found.
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
Described by a Council on Pharmacy Standards secondary source as 'one of the broadest CDTA frameworks in the U.S.' — no schedule-specific numeric ceiling was located in statute.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Non-licensee ownership permitted — No pharmacist-ownership requirement identified in Washington statute; the CDTA prescriptive-authority framework above is a clinical-practice question distinct from pharmacy-entity ownership
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Washington
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Pharmacist. Standard-tier state.
About Washington's rules
Washington is a full-independence state for ALL FOUR ARNP roles (NP, CRNA, CNM, CNS) under RCW 18.79, not just NPs — confirmed current via WAC 246-840-300/420 and Board of Nursing guidance. PAs are separate: HB 2041 (eff. Jan. 1, 2025) replaced supervision-only with a 4,000-hour supervision→collaboration tier (RCW 18.71A.120) with no numeric ratio cap.
Other clinicians in Washington: see the state overview.