Effective 28 Aug 2019

334.037. Assistant physicians, collaborative practice arrangements, requirements — rulemaking authority — identification badges required, when — prescriptive authority. — 1. A physician may enter into collaborative practice arrangements with assistant physicians. Collaborative practice arrangements shall be in the form of written agreements, jointly agreed-upon protocols, or standing orders for the delivery of health care services. Collaborative practice arrangements, which shall be in writing, may delegate to an assistant physician the authority to administer or dispense drugs and provide treatment as long as the delivery of such health care services is within the scope of practice of the assistant physician and is consistent with that assistant physician's skill, training, and competence and the skill and training of the collaborating physician.

2. The written collaborative practice arrangement shall contain at least the following provisions:

(1) Complete names, home and business addresses, zip codes, and telephone numbers of the collaborating physician and the assistant physician;

(2) A list of all other offices or locations besides those listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection where the collaborating physician authorized the assistant physician to prescribe;

(3) A requirement that there shall be posted at every office where the assistant physician is authorized to prescribe, in collaboration with a physician, a prominently displayed disclosure statement informing patients that they may be seen by an assistant physician and have the right to see the collaborating physician;

(4) All specialty or board certifications of the collaborating physician and all certifications of the assistant physician;

(5) The manner of collaboration between the collaborating physician and the assistant physician, including how the collaborating physician and the assistant physician shall:

(a) Engage in collaborative practice consistent with each professional's skill, training, education, and competence;

(b) Maintain geographic proximity; except, the collaborative practice arrangement may allow for geographic proximity to be waived for a maximum of twenty-eight days per calendar year for rural health clinics as defined by Pub. L. 95-210 (42 U.S.C. Section 1395x), as amended, as long as the collaborative practice arrangement includes alternative plans as required in paragraph (c) of this subdivision. Such exception to geographic proximity shall apply only to independent rural health clinics, provider-based rural health clinics if the provider is a critical access hospital as provided in 42 U.S.C. Section 1395i-4, and provider-based rural health clinics if the main location of the hospital sponsor is greater than fifty miles from the clinic. The collaborating physician shall maintain documentation related to such requirement and present it to the state board of registration for the healing arts when requested; and

(c) Provide coverage during absence, incapacity, infirmity, or emergency by the collaborating physician;

(6) A description of the assistant physician's controlled substance prescriptive authority in collaboration with the physician, including a list of the controlled substances the physician authorizes the assistant physician to prescribe and documentation that it is consistent with each professional's education, knowledge, skill, and competence;

(7) A list of all other written practice agreements of the collaborating physician and the assistant physician;

(8) The duration of the written practice agreement between the collaborating physician and the assistant physician;

(9) A description of the time and manner of the collaborating physician's review of the assistant physician's delivery of health care services. The description shall include provisions that the assistant physician shall submit a minimum of ten percent of the charts documenting the assistant physician's delivery of health care services to the collaborating physician for review by the collaborating physician, or any other physician designated in the collaborative practice arrangement, every fourteen days; and

(10) The collaborating physician, or any other physician designated in the collaborative practice arrangement, shall review every fourteen days a minimum of twenty percent of the charts in which the assistant physician prescribes controlled substances. The charts reviewed under this subdivision may be counted in the number of charts required to be reviewed under subdivision (9) of this subsection.

3. The state board of registration for the healing arts under section 334.125 shall promulgate rules regulating the use of collaborative practice arrangements for assistant physicians. Such rules shall specify:

(1) Geographic areas to be covered;

(2) The methods of treatment that may be covered by collaborative practice arrangements;

(3) In conjunction with deans of medical schools and primary care residency program directors in the state, the development and implementation of educational methods and programs undertaken during the collaborative practice service which shall facilitate the advancement of the assistant physician's medical knowledge and capabilities, and which may lead to credit toward a future residency program for programs that deem such documented educational achievements acceptable; and

(4) The requirements for review of services provided under collaborative practice arrangements, including delegating authority to prescribe controlled substances.

­­Any rules relating to dispensing or distribution of medications or devices by prescription or prescription drug orders under this section shall be subject to the approval of the state board of pharmacy. Any rules relating to dispensing or distribution of controlled substances by prescription or prescription drug orders under this section shall be subject to the approval of the department of health and senior services and the state board of pharmacy. The state board of registration for the healing arts shall promulgate rules applicable to assistant physicians that shall be consistent with guidelines for federally funded clinics. The rulemaking authority granted in this subsection shall not extend to collaborative practice arrangements of hospital employees providing inpatient care within hospitals as defined in chapter 197 or population-based public health services as defined by 20 CSR 2150-5.100 as of April 30, 2008.

4. The state board of registration for the healing arts shall not deny, revoke, suspend, or otherwise take disciplinary action against a collaborating physician for health care services delegated to an assistant physician provided the provisions of this section and the rules promulgated thereunder are satisfied.

5. Within thirty days of any change and on each renewal, the state board of registration for the healing arts shall require every physician to identify whether the physician is engaged in any collaborative practice arrangement, including collaborative practice arrangements delegating the authority to prescribe controlled substances, and also report to the board the name of each assistant physician with whom the physician has entered into such arrangement. The board may make such information available to the public. The board shall track the reported information and may routinely conduct random reviews of such arrangements to ensure that arrangements are carried out for compliance under this chapter.

6. A collaborating physician shall not enter into a collaborative practice arrangement with more than six full-time equivalent assistant physicians, full-time equivalent physician assistants, or full-time equivalent advance practice registered nurses, or any combination thereof. Such limitation shall not apply to collaborative arrangements of hospital employees providing inpatient care service in hospitals as defined in chapter 197 or population-based public health services as defined by 20 CSR 2150-5.100 as of April 30, 2008, or to a certified registered nurse anesthetist providing anesthesia services under the supervision of an anesthesiologist or other physician, dentist, or podiatrist who is immediately available if needed as set out in subsection 7 of section 334.104.

7. The collaborating physician shall determine and document the completion of at least a one-month period of time during which the assistant physician shall practice with the collaborating physician continuously present before practicing in a setting where the collaborating physician is not continuously present. No rule or regulation shall require the collaborating physician to review more than ten percent of the assistant physician's patient charts or records during such one-month period. Such limitation shall not apply to collaborative arrangements of providers of population-based public health services as defined by 20 CSR 2150-5.100 as of April 30, 2008.

8. No agreement made under this section shall supersede current hospital licensing regulations governing hospital medication orders under protocols or standing orders for the purpose of delivering inpatient or emergency care within a hospital as defined in section 197.020 if such protocols or standing orders have been approved by the hospital's medical staff and pharmaceutical therapeutics committee.

9. No contract or other agreement shall require a physician to act as a collaborating physician for an assistant physician against the physician's will. A physician shall have the right to refuse to act as a collaborating physician, without penalty, for a particular assistant physician. No contract or other agreement shall limit the collaborating physician's ultimate authority over any protocols or standing orders or in the delegation of the physician's authority to any assistant physician, but such requirement shall not authorize a physician in implementing such protocols, standing orders, or delegation to violate applicable standards for safe medical practice established by a hospital's medical staff.

10. No contract or other agreement shall require any assistant physician to serve as a collaborating assistant physician for any collaborating physician against the assistant physician's will. An assistant physician shall have the right to refuse to collaborate, without penalty, with a particular physician.

11. All collaborating physicians and assistant physicians in collaborative practice arrangements shall wear identification badges while acting within the scope of their collaborative practice arrangement. The identification badges shall prominently display the licensure status of such collaborating physicians and assistant physicians.

12. (1) An assistant physician with a certificate of controlled substance prescriptive authority as provided in this section may prescribe any controlled substance listed in Schedule III, IV, or V of section 195.017, and may have restricted authority in Schedule II, when delegated the authority to prescribe controlled substances in a collaborative practice arrangement. Prescriptions for Schedule II medications prescribed by an assistant physician who has a certificate of controlled substance prescriptive authority are restricted to only those medications containing hydrocodone. Such authority shall be filed with the state board of registration for the healing arts. The collaborating physician shall maintain the right to limit a specific scheduled drug or scheduled drug category that the assistant physician is permitted to prescribe. Any limitations shall be listed in the collaborative practice arrangement. Assistant physicians shall not prescribe controlled substances for themselves or members of their families. Schedule III controlled substances and Schedule II - hydrocodone prescriptions shall be limited to a five-day supply without refill, except that buprenorphine may be prescribed for up to a thirty-day supply without refill for patients receiving medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders under the direction of the collaborating physician. Assistant physicians who are authorized to prescribe controlled substances under this section shall register with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the state bureau of narcotics and dangerous drugs, and shall include the Drug Enforcement Administration registration number on prescriptions for controlled substances.

(2) The collaborating physician shall be responsible to determine and document the completion of at least one hundred twenty hours in a four-month period by the assistant physician during which the assistant physician shall practice with the collaborating physician on-site prior to prescribing controlled substances when the collaborating physician is not on-site. Such limitation shall not apply to assistant physicians of population-based public health services as defined in 20 CSR 2150-5.100 as of April 30, 2009, or assistant physicians providing opioid addiction treatment.

(3) An assistant physician shall receive a certificate of controlled substance prescriptive authority from the state board of registration for the healing arts upon verification of licensure under section 334.036.

13. Nothing in this section or section 334.036 shall be construed to limit the authority of hospitals or hospital medical staff to make employment or medical staff credentialing or privileging decisions.

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(L. 2014 S.B. 716 merged with S.B. 754, A.L. 2015 H.B. 709, A.L. 2018 S.B. 718 merged with S.B. 951, A.L. 2019 S.B. 514)