NP · Delaware
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management for Nurse Practitioners in Delaware
Yes, a written agreement with a physician is required before you prescribe and adjust drug therapy. Delaware calls it a Collaborative Agreement.
Once the 2-year/4,000-hour transition-to-practice threshold is met, no collaborative agreement is required to continue practicing (24 Del.C. § 1906(20); 24 DE Admin. Code 1900 § 8.0).
Independent practice requires: ≥2 years of collaborative practice; ≥4,000 hours of clinical practice with a physician or experienced APRN in the same role/population focus.
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
below the 2-year/4,000-hour transition threshold: Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
No codified mile/minute radius or on-site requirement was found for the collaborative/mentorship relationship during the transition period (24 DE Admin. Code 1900 § 8.0).
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
below the 2-year/4,000-hour transition threshold: Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Full prescriptive authority, including controlled substances, is granted upon APRN licensure, subject to completing the transition requirements and standard DEA registration (24 Del.C. § 1906(20)).
at/after the 2-year/4,000-hour transition threshold: Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Independent prescriptive authority, no agreement-based restriction.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Professional (service) corporation under 8 Del.C. Ch. 6, owned by nursing licensees — non-licensees may not hold equity. Ch. 6 does not list a nurse+physician cross-license combination the way it does for medicine+podiatry.
Ownership is legally distinct from, and unaffected by, whether the NP has reached independent-practice status.
Sources for the supervision rules (2)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Delaware
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Nurse Practitioner. Standard-tier state.
About Delaware's rules
Delaware grants full independent practice to APRNs (NP, CRNA, CNM, CNS) after a uniform 2-year, 4,000-hour transition period (24 Del.C. § 1906(20); 24 DE Admin. Code 1900 § 8.0). This entry applies that rule identically across the four APRN roles; confirm role-specific detail with the Board of Nursing. PAs have no independent-practice pathway.
Other clinicians in Delaware: see the state overview.