Protocol · NP · Alaska
Practice Protocol for Nurse Practitioners in Alaska
Nurse Practitioners practice independently in Alaska. A practice protocol is voluntary; here is what one covers and what the state does require.
Alaska is a full-practice-authority state for all APRN roles. AS 08.68.850(1) and 12 AAC 44 Article 4 define the NP as a licensed independent practitioner with no supervising or collaborating physician required at any point.
What a voluntary Nurse Practitioner protocol covers in Alaska
Alaska requires no written protocol for nurse practitioners. These are the clauses a practice includes when it chooses to put one in writing. The Alaska Board of Nursing and the Alaska Board of Pharmacy governs nurse practitioners here.
Alaska does not require the Nurse Practitioner to enter into a collaboration or supervision agreement with a physician. The Nurse Practitioner practices and prescribes under the Nurse Practitioner's own license, consistent with AS 08.68.
This Agreement's terms regarding the Nurse Practitioner accordingly serve to define the working relationship, referral pathways, and any Medical Director oversight between the Parties, and are not themselves required by Alaska law as a condition of the Nurse Practitioner's authority to practice.
- A voluntary protocol also carries 1 scope, 1 education and 1 registration clauses, authored in the document itself.
What Alaska does require
The supervision and prescribing rules that apply to nurse practitioners regardless of any protocol.
Proximity
No proximity requirement
No supervising-physician relationship exists to have a proximity standard for.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified
Meeting cadence
Not codified
Prescriptive authority
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Controlled-substance authority requires a separate board application (12 AAC 44.445: $100 fee, proof of licensure, 15 contact hours of advanced pharmacology within 2 years) distinct from base prescribing under 12 AAC 44.440. Alaska PDMP check-in required before initial Schedule II/III dispensing, then periodically thereafter.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional — no Alaska statute conditions NP practice on a collaborative or supervisory physician agreement.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same Alaska Professional Corporation Act (AS 10.45) framework as `pa` — a nursing PC's owners must be licensed in the applicable profession.
Sources for the supervision rules (3)
- AS 08.68.850(1) — Definitions (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse)secondary
- 12 AAC 44, Article 4 — APRN Role and Scope of Practicesecondary
- 12 AAC 44.445 — Controlled Substance Prescriptive Authority
About Alaska's rules
All four APRN roles (NP, CRNA, CNM, CNS) share one statutory framework (AS 08.68.850, 12 AAC 44) with FULL independent practice and no collaborative agreement. PA law is mid-transition: SB 89 would add a 4,000-hour conditional pathway effective ~Sept. 16, 2026, but its enrolled text couldn't be verified — current codified law (below) still requires a standing collaborative plan with no experience-based exit.
Other clinicians in Alaska: see the state overview.