Protocol · PA · Idaho
Practice Protocol for Physician Assistants in Idaho
Idaho does not define a named protocol for Physician Assistants. Here is what the state does require and what a written protocol usually covers.
No independent-practice pathway exists for PAs in Idaho — a written collaborative practice agreement with one or more physicians is required for as long as the PA practices (Idaho Code § 54-1807A).
What a Physician Assistant protocol must contain in Idaho
Idaho requires a written protocol but gives it no statutory name. Governed by the Idaho State Board of Medicine and the Idaho State Board of Pharmacy. Each numbered item is a requirement the protocol must satisfy.
The Physician Assistant ("PA") shall collaborate with, consult with, or refer to the Physician as the patient's condition, the Physician Assistant's competence, and the applicable community standard of care require, consistent with Idaho Code § 54-1807A. At least one Idaho-licensed physician shall be available to collaborate with the Physician Assistant, though physicians need not be individually named where more than one physician works at the facility.
If the Physician Assistant is employed by a non-physician entity or practices independently, the Physician Assistant shall maintain a written collaborative practice agreement identifying the parties, the Physician Assistant's authorized scope of practice, the collaboration, consultation, and referral obligation, and any monitoring parameters clinically warranted. Idaho law does not fix a numerical limit on the number of Physician Assistants with whom a physician may collaborate. The agreement need not be filed with the Idaho State Board of Medicine in advance, but the Parties shall keep an accessible copy and produce it to the Board upon request.
- The protocol also carries 1 scope, 1 education and 1 registration clauses, authored in the document itself.
Terms it has to carry
Ratio, proximity, chart review, meeting and prescribing terms the protocol has to carry, from Idaho's supervision rules.
Proximity
Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
The degree and nature of collaboration is set by the facility/practice in facility bylaws or a written collaborative practice agreement — no fixed mile/minute radius or on-site requirement is codified (Idaho Code § 54-1807A).
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
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Prescriptive scope is addressed in the collaborative practice agreement or facility bylaws; Idaho statute does not state a PA-specific schedule limit.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Non-licensee ownership permitted — Following the Idaho Board of Medicine's March 2016 disavowal of corporate-practice-of-medicine enforcement, a PA may generally hold equity in a standard LLC/corporation alongside physicians, NPs, or even non-licensees, so long as licensed professionals actually deliver the care through employment/contract with the entity.
About Idaho's rules
Idaho APRNs (NP, CRNA, CNM, CNS) have full independent practice authority. The Idaho Board of Medicine formally disavowed corporate-practice-of-medicine enforcement in March 2016, so physicians, NPs, PAs and non-licensees may generally co-own a standard business entity as long as licensed professionals deliver the care.
Other clinicians in Idaho: see the state overview.