PA · Alaska
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management for Physician Assistants in Alaska
Yes, a written agreement with a physician is required before you prescribe and adjust drug therapy. Alaska calls it a Collaborative Plan.
Reflects the currently codified 12 AAC 40 and AS 08.64, which require a board-approved collaborative plan with no hours-based sunset. SB 89 (2026) would create a conditional pathway to reduced-agreement collaboration after 4,000 hours, reported as effective around Sept. 16, 2026; check the enrolled text before that date.
What the physician relationship must look like
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
Alaska State Medical Board guidance requires a 'periodic method of assessment' (personal observation/evaluation, continuing instruction) rather than a fixed radius; PAs in remote areas may practice without the collaborating physician physically present so long as direct telephonic/electronic/video access exists (secondary-sourced summary of AS 08.64/board guidance).
Supervision ratio
Up to 4 at a time
Commonly cited as 12 AAC 40.430.
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
A separate prescriptive-authority application/approval is required specifically for controlled substances (Board form med0017), distinct from the base collaborative plan. No PA-specific Schedule II day-supply cap was found (contrast with AK's explicit APRN opioid rule). Alaska PDMP (AS 17.30.200) check-in applies.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Alaska Professional Corporation Act (AS 10.45) requires all shareholders/directors/incorporators of a professional corporation to hold licenses in the profession the PC is organized to practice — a medical PC's owners must be licensed physicians, not PAs or laypeople.
Sources for the supervision rules (4)
- AS 08.64 — Alaska Medical Board (Physician Assistants)
- 12 AAC 40 — Physician Assistant Licensure and Practice
- Alaska State Medical Board — PA Scope of Practice Guidelines
- SB 89 (2026) — PA Scope of Practice Modernization (secondary summary)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Alaska
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About Alaska's rules
All four APRN roles (NP, CRNA, CNM, CNS) share one statutory framework (AS 08.68.850, 12 AAC 44) with FULL independent practice and no collaborative agreement. PA law is mid-transition: SB 89 would add a 4,000-hour conditional pathway effective ~Sept. 16, 2026, but its enrolled text couldn't be verified — current codified law (below) still requires a standing collaborative plan with no experience-based exit.
Other clinicians in Alaska: see the state overview.