PA · Arkansas
Supervision Agreement for Physician Assistants in Arkansas
Yes, a written supervising-physician agreement is required. Arkansas calls it a Delegation Agreement.
No independent-practice pathway exists for PAs in Arkansas. Act 634 of 2021 modernized delegation mechanics (shifting drug-list specifics into the practice agreement) but did not create independence.
What the supervision 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)
Arkansas Medical Board Rule 24 requires the supervising physician (or backup) be 'available for immediate telephone contact'; the practice agreement must separately state a 'geographic range' for the relationship, but no fixed mile/minute radius was found codified in the rule text retrieved.
Supervision ratio
Up to 3 at a time
Sourced from the Arkansas Medical Board's PA licensure-application packet (a physician may directly supervise up to 3 PAs) rather than a directly-confirmed Rule 24 section number — treat as high-confidence Board policy, not verified verbatim against the rule text.
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Schedule II opioids limited to a 5-day supply or less; Schedule II stimulants only if originally initiated by the physician and the physician evaluated the patient within the prior 6 months; Schedules III-V as authorized in the agreement (Arkansas Medical Board Rule 24). PAs must register with DEA's Mid-Level Practitioner registry.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Ark. Code Ann. §§ 4-29-208, 4-29-307 require professional-corporation officers/directors/shareholders to be Arkansas-licensed physicians for an entity practicing medicine — a PA cannot solely own the PC/PLLC (secondary-sourced characterization; recommend direct statutory confirmation of PA-specific carve-outs, if any, before treating as settled).
Legal sources for these rules (3)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 17-105-107 — Scope of Authority; Delegatory Authoritysecondary
- Arkansas State Medical Board Rule 24 — Physician Assistantssecondary
- Act 634 of 2021 — PA Delegation Modernization (eff. 7/28/2021)
What a supervising physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Arkansas
$500 – $700
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About Arkansas's rules
Act 412 of 2021 created a 6,240-hour Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committee (FIPCC) pathway for CNPs and CNSs only — CRNAs and CNMs are excluded from FIPCC and follow their own frameworks. CRNA independent-practice status is a genuine, unresolved ambiguity (see that entry) — a widely repeated 'Medicare opt-out' claim doesn't equal a change to AR's own supervision statute.
Other clinicians in Arkansas: see the state overview.