PMHNP · Louisiana

Supervision Agreement for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners in Louisiana

Yes, a written supervising-physician agreement is required. Louisiana does not name a specific instrument.

Practice authorityConditional independence
Written agreementAgreement required
What Louisiana calls itNo named instrument
Research date2026-09-03

Louisiana's Nurse Practice Act and LSBN rules don't carve out a separate framework for psychiatric-mental-health NPs — PMHNPs follow the same Collaborative-Practice-Agreement regime as any other NP (see the general `np` entry). This entry exists for its own page/URL/calculator weight, not a legal distinction.

Independent practice requires: Same unconfirmed hours-based CPA exemption referenced in the general `np` entry (LA Admin. Code tit. 46 §7911.A.5) — Louisiana's APRN framework does not differentiate PMHNPs from other NP population foci..

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)

Same standard as general NPs — collaborating physician must be available by telephone or direct telecommunication when not physically present (LAC 46:XLV.7911).

Supervision ratio

Not codified — no cap on file

Chart review

Not codified — left to the agreement

Meeting cadence

Annually

Same CPA clinical-practice-guideline annual review cadence as general NPs.

Prescriptive authority

Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted

PMHNP prescribing in practice skews toward Schedule II stimulants and Schedule IV benzodiazepines/hypnotics more heavily than general primary-care NP prescribing — not a different legal limit, but a different real-world risk profile (reflected in calculatorWeights below, not in this rule itself).

Written agreement

Required

Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)

Licensee-only ownership required — Same as the general `np` entry — Louisiana's Professional Corporation Law (La. R.S. 12:901 et seq.) does not distinguish PMHNPs from other NP population foci; not independently confirmed for APRN-specific entity structures in this research pass.

Legal sources for these rules (3)

What a supervising physician costs here

Typical monthly cost in Louisiana

$500$800

Estimate for one Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. This state's rules add a restrictive-tier premium.

About Louisiana's rules

Louisiana remains a 'reduced practice' state for NPs — no SAVE Act-style full-practice-authority reform has passed. LA Admin. Code tit. 46 §7911.A.5 references an hours-based exemption from the CPA requirement for NP/CNM/CNS, but secondary sources give conflicting hour figures (1,000 vs. 2,080) and this pass could not confirm the exact threshold or resulting scope — verify directly with LSBN before relying on it.

Other clinicians in Louisiana: see the state overview.