PMHNP · Massachusetts
Supervision Agreement for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners in Massachusetts
Yes, a written supervising-physician agreement is required. Massachusetts does not name a specific instrument.
MA's Nurse Practice Act calls this category 'Psychiatric Nurse Mental Health Clinical Specialist' (PNMHCS/PCNS), not PMHNP, but 244 CMR 4.03/4.07 treat it as a distinct APRN category with the same full-practice-authority transition as general NPs (2 years supervised practice + Board attestation, or 3 years' prior independent authority).
Independent practice requires: 2 years of supervised practice under mutually-agreed guidelines with a Qualified Healthcare Professional (244 CMR 4.07), OR ≥3 years of independent-practice authority already held in another state/territory; submission of a Board attestation — independence is not automatic upon hitting the threshold.
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
before the 2-/3-year independent-practice threshold is reached: Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
Same standard as general NPs — mutually agreed guidelines with a Qualified Healthcare Professional; no on-site or mile/minute standard is codified (244 CMR 4.06/4.07).
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
before the 2-/3-year independent-practice threshold is reached: Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Schedule II–V per M.G.L. c. 94C §7 (same statutory basis as general NPs); requires MA Controlled Substance Registration and/or DEA registration. PMHNP prescribing in practice skews toward Schedule II stimulants and Schedule IV benzodiazepines more heavily than general NP practice — not a different legal limit, reflected in calculatorWeights below rather than in this rule.
after the 2-/3-year threshold and Board attestation: Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Prescribes independently with no supervising-physician review.
Written agreement
Required
Same branch as the general `np` entry: required before the transition threshold is met, not required after Board attestation of independent-practice status.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same open item as the general `np` entry — Professional Corporation under M.G.L. c. 156A; nurse-owned PC/PLLC eligibility for PMHNP-delivered care was not confirmed from primary text this pass.
Legal sources for these rules (3)
- 244 CMR 4.03 — APRN Clinical Categories (identifies PNMHCS/PCNS)secondary
- 244 CMR 4.07 — Advanced Practice Registered Nursing, Prescriptive Practicesecondary
- M.G.L. c. 94C, §7 — Practitioners authorized to prescribe controlled substances
What a supervising physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Massachusetts
$500 – $650
Estimate for one Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About Massachusetts's rules
Full practice authority (Acts 2020, c. 260, §36; 244 CMR 4.00) let NPs, PMHNPs, and CNMs practice independently in MA — CNMs immediately, NPs/PMHNPs after a Board-attested transition (244 CMR 4.07). PAs and CRNAs have no independent-practice pathway. MA's professional-corporation ownership rules (M.G.L. c. 156A) are notably strict; this file could not independently re-verify APRN/PA-specific PLLC eligibility this pass — treat CPOM entries as open items.
Other clinicians in Massachusetts: see the state overview.