PA · Delaware
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management for Physician Assistants in Delaware
Yes, a written agreement with a physician is required before you prescribe and adjust drug therapy. Delaware calls it a Supervisory Practice Agreement.
No independent-practice pathway exists for PAs in Delaware — a written collaborative agreement with a supervising physician is required for as long as the PA practices (24 Del.C. § 1770 et seq.).
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)
Where the PA treats patients at a location the supervising physician doesn't routinely occupy, the physician must ensure the means/methods of supervision (which may include telecommunication and chart review) are adequate, detailed in the written collaborative agreement (24 Del.C. § 1771). No fixed mile/minute radius is codified.
Supervision ratio
Up to 4 at a time
A physician may not collaborate with more than 4 PAs at any one time, unless a Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline regulation increases or decreases that number (24 Del.C. § 1771).
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
Prescriptive scope must be addressed in the written collaborative agreement. Delaware statute and rule do not appear to set a schedule-specific supply limit the way some states do; treat that as unsettled rather than as confirmation that no limit exists.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Professional service corporation under 8 Del.C. Ch. 6; every shareholder licensed for the corporation's professional service
Distinct from the clinical collaborative-agreement relationship above — the supervising physician need not own the entity the PA practices through.
Sources for the supervision rules (3)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Delaware
$500 – $800
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
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.