PA · Rhode Island
Supervision Agreement for Physician Assistants in Rhode Island
Not unconditionally. Rhode Island does not name a specific instrument.
The 2019 reform (P.L. 2019, ch. 130/131) eliminated written practice agreements and hospital ratio caps, replacing them with a 'collaboration' standard — but a physician must still be 'accessible at all times for consultation' for as long as the PA practices (§ 5-54-2(3)). No experience-based exit from that requirement exists, so this isn't full 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)
§ 5-54-2(3): 'a physician must be accessible at all times for consultation by the physician assistant.' No mile/minute radius or on-site standard is codified; the degree of collaboration otherwise 'shall be determined by the practice.'
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
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Schedule II, III, IV, and V under the RI Uniform Controlled Substances Act (§ 5-54-8); Schedule I is not included.
Written agreement
Not required
No WRITTEN practice agreement is required — § 5-54-8 removed that requirement in 2019. But 'collaboration' isn't optional: an appropriate physician must be accessible at all times, and the degree of collaboration is set by the employer/practice/credentialing system rather than a document the PA and physician negotiate.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Professional Service Corporation under R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-5.1-1 et seq. — PAs are explicitly listed among the healing-arts licensees (with physicians, dentists, RNs, podiatrists, optometrists, chiropractic physicians, physical therapists, psychologists, and midwives/nurse-midwives) who may jointly organize a multi-service PSC.
Confirm the 2026 bill's status before assuming either the current permissive PSC regime or a stricter CPOM ban applies going forward.
Legal sources for these rules (4)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-54-8 — Permitted Healthcare Practices by Physician Assistantssecondary
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-54-2 — Definitions ('Collaboration')
- Robinson+Cole — 'Rhode Island Removes Supervision Requirements for PAs in Favor of Expanded Collaboration Standard' (2019)secondary
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-5.1-1 et seq. — Professional Service Corporations
What a supervising physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Rhode Island
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. Standard-tier state.
About Rhode Island's rules
RI is a Full Practice Authority state for NP/CNM (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-34-44) and, since a 2019 reform (§ 5-54-8), no longer requires PAs to have a written practice agreement — 'collaboration' with an always-accessible physician replaced supervision and hospital ratio caps. CRNAs are the exception: RI has NOT taken the Medicare physician-supervision opt-out, and CRNA scope is statutorily bounded to the perioperative period.
Other clinicians in Rhode Island: see the state overview.