Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

147A.18 Delegated authority to prescribe, dispense, and administer drugs and medical devices.

Subdivision 1. Delegation. (a) A supervising physician may delegate to a physician assistant who is registered with the board, certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants or successor agency approved by the board, and who is under the supervising physician's supervision, the authority to prescribe, dispense, and administer legend drugs, medical devices, and controlled substances subject to the requirements in this section. The authority to dispense includes, but is not limited to, the authority to request, receive, and dispense sample drugs. This authority to dispense extends only to those drugs described in the written agreement developed under paragraph (b).

(b) The agreement between the physician assistant and supervising physician and any alternate supervising physicians must include a statement by the supervising physician regarding delegation or nondelegation of the functions of prescribing, dispensing, and administering of legend drugs and medical devices to the physician assistant. The statement must include a protocol indicating categories of drugs for which the supervising physician delegates prescriptive and dispensing authority. The delegation must be appropriate to the physician assistant's practice and within the scope of the physician assistant's training. Physician assistants who have been delegated the authority to prescribe, dispense, and administer legend drugs and medical devices shall provide evidence of current certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants or its successor agency when registering or reregistering as physician assistants. Physician assistants who have been delegated the authority to prescribe controlled substances must present evidence of the certification and hold a valid DEA certificate. Supervising physicians shall retrospectively review the prescribing, dispensing, and administering of legend and controlled drugs and medical devices by physician assistants, when this authority has been delegated to the physician assistant as part of the delegation agreement between the physician and the physician assistant. This review must take place at least weekly. The process and schedule for the review must be outlined in the delegation agreement.

(c) The board may establish by rule:

(1) a system of identifying physician assistants eligible to prescribe, administer, and dispense legend drugs and medical devices;

(2) a system of identifying physician assistants eligible to prescribe, administer, and dispense controlled substances;

(3) a method of determining the categories of legend and controlled drugs and medical devices that each physician assistant is allowed to prescribe, administer, and dispense; and

(4) a system of transmitting to pharmacies a listing of physician assistants eligible to prescribe legend and controlled drugs and medical devices.

Subd. 2. Termination and reinstatement of prescribing authority. (a) The authority of a physician assistant to prescribe, dispense, and administer legend drugs and medical devices shall end immediately when:

(1) the agreement is terminated;

(2) the authority to prescribe, dispense, and administer is terminated or withdrawn by the supervising physician; or

(3) the physician assistant reverts to inactive status, loses National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants or successor agency certification, or loses or terminates registration status.

(b) The physician assistant must notify the board in writing within ten days of the occurrence of any of the circumstances listed in paragraph (a).

(c) Physician assistants whose authority to prescribe, dispense, and administer has been terminated shall reapply for reinstatement of prescribing authority under this section and meet any requirements established by the board prior to reinstatement of the prescribing, dispensing, and administering authority.

Subd. 3. Other requirements and restrictions. (a) The supervising physician and the physician assistant must complete, sign, and date an internal protocol which lists each category of drug or medical device, or controlled substance the physician assistant may prescribe, dispense, and administer. The supervising physician and physician assistant shall submit the internal protocol to the board upon request. The supervising physician may amend the internal protocol as necessary, within the limits of the completed delegation form in subdivision 5. The supervising physician and physician assistant must sign and date any amendments to the internal protocol. Any amendments resulting in a change to an addition or deletion to categories delegated in the delegation form in subdivision 5 must be submitted to the board according to this chapter, along with the fee required.

(b) The supervising physician and physician assistant shall review delegation of prescribing, dispensing, and administering authority on an annual basis at the time of reregistration. The internal protocol must be signed and dated by the supervising physician and physician assistant after review. Any amendments to the internal protocol resulting in changes to the delegation form in subdivision 5 must be submitted to the board according to this chapter, along with the fee required.

(c) Each prescription initiated by a physician assistant shall indicate the following:

(1) the date of issue;

(2) the name and address of the patient;

(3) the name and quantity of the drug prescribed;

(4) directions for use; and

(5) the name, address, and telephone number of the prescribing physician assistant and of the physician serving as supervisor.

(d) In prescribing, dispensing, and administering legend drugs and medical devices, including controlled substances as defined in section 152.01, subdivision 4, a physician assistant must conform with the agreement, chapter 151, and this chapter.

Subd. 4. Notification of pharmacies. (a) The board shall annually provide to the Board of Pharmacy and to registered pharmacies within the state a list of those physician assistants who are authorized to prescribe, administer, and dispense legend drugs and medical devices, or controlled substances.

(b) The board shall provide to the Board of Pharmacy a list of physician assistants authorized to prescribe legend drugs and medical devices every two months if additional physician assistants are authorized to prescribe or if physician assistants have authorization to prescribe withdrawn.

(c) The list must include the name, address, telephone number, and Minnesota registration number of the physician assistant, and the name, address, telephone number, and Minnesota license number of the supervising physician.

(d) The board shall provide the form in subdivision 5 to pharmacies upon request.

(e) The board shall make available prototype forms of the physician-physician assistant agreement, the internal protocol, the delegation form, and the addendum form.

Subd. 5. Delegation form for physician assistant prescribing. The delegation form for physician assistant prescribing must contain a listing by drug category of the legend drugs and controlled substances for which prescribing authority has been delegated to the physician assistant.

HIST: 1995 c 205 art 1 s 17; 2001 c 49 s 1

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes