PA · West Virginia
Collaborative Drug Therapy Management for Physician Assistants in West Virginia
Yes, a written agreement with a physician is required before you prescribe and adjust drug therapy. West Virginia calls it a Practice Notification.
Under current law, PAs 'shall practice in collaboration with physicians' with no experience or hours-based exit (W. Va. Code St. R. § 24-2-8). SB 956 (2026), which would eliminate this entirely and let PAs own practices, was still moving through the House when this was written; confirm its status before assuming it is in effect.
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)
'Constant physical presence of the collaborating physician is not required as long as the collaborating physician and physician assistant are, or can be, easily in contact with one another' — no codified mile/minute radius located.
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
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Prescriptive scope is set by the collaboration agreement or practice notification filed with the Board of Medicine; West Virginia sets no PA-specific schedule-level numeric limit (distinct from the APRN 3-day Schedule II rule noted for NPs).
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Authorized Medical Corporation under W. Va. Code § 30-3-15 — requires 100% physician/podiatric-physician shareholder ownership; PAs may be EMPLOYEES of such a corporation but, under current law, may not hold shares. (SB 956, if it becomes law, would add PAs as eligible shareholders — not yet confirmed in effect; see state-level notes.)
Sources for the supervision rules (4)
- W. Va. Code St. R. § 24-2-8 — Collaborative Practice Requirementssecondary
- W. Va. Code § 30-3-15 — Authorized Medical Corporationssecondary
- WV Board of Medicine — Physicians Assistants Practice Act overview
- SB 956 (2026, status unconfirmed when this was written) — PA business ownership and end of mandatory collaborationsecondary
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in West Virginia
$500 – $700
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About West Virginia's rules
Sourcing for West Virginia leans on Board of Nursing, Board of Medicine and Board of Pharmacy materials and secondary summaries rather than direct statute text, so confidence is lower than for most states. SB 956 (2026), which would let PAs own practices and end mandatory collaboration, had not been confirmed as finally passed and signed when this was written; the PA entries below reflect current, not pending, law.
Other clinicians in West Virginia: see the state overview.