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SUPERVISING PHYSICIANS and PRACTICE AGREEMENTS
 
 
 
 
OMB will no longer accept hard copy Practice Agreements or Terminations after January 31, 2013, as all submissions will need to be online.
 
If you have questions, please contact the Licensing Call Center at omb.appdocuments@state.or.us or (971)673-2700.
 
SUPERVISING PHYSICIAN APPROVAL
Effective January 1, 2012, prior to using the services of a physician assistant (PA) as detailed in a practice agreement, a supervising physician or primary supervising physician of a supervising physician organization (SPO) must be approved as a supervising physician by the Board. This applies to all physicians who are supervising a PA under a practice agreement for the first time, even if the physician previously supervised a PA under a practice description. Physicians applying for approval as a supervising physician must take a course and pass an open-book exam on the new supervising physician requirements and responsibilities as part of the application process.

To submit an application, log in to the Board’s Online Services using your physician license number and choose Supervising Physician Application in the lower left corner, under the Supervising Physicians section on the page.
 
PRACTICE AGREEMENTS
SUPERVISING PHYSICIANS
Once approved as a supervising physician, a physician may use the services of a PA only after entering into a practice agreement with the physician assistant. The practice agreement must be filed with the Board within 10 days of the physician assistant beginning practice.

To add a new supervisory relationship **, log in to the Board’s Online Services using your physician license number and choose Practice Agreements in the lower left corner, under the Supervising Physicians section on the page. Note that the physician will not be given the option to start a new practice agreement online unless already approved by the Board as a supervising physician.
 
**DO NOT SUBMIT A PRACTICE AGREEMENT UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY THE BOARD OF APPROVAL AS A SUPERVISING PHYSICIAN.**
 
After the physician has attested to and submitted the details of the practice agreement to the Board, the PA must also log in, review, attest to and submit the details of the practice agreement for the submission to be complete. This process must be completed within 10 days of the physician assistant beginning practice. The Board will send written confirmation of the practice agreement being filed to the supervising physician and the PA.
 
To change an existing supervisory relationship:
  • If the relationship is currently on file as a practice description (approved prior to 2012), you must terminate the practice description (see Termination of Supervisory Relationship below) and submit a new practice agreement (see add a new supervisory relationship above).
  • If the relationship is currently on file as a practice agreement (filed January 1, 2012 or after), please submit a written report to the Board detailing how you intend to modify the practice relationship.  You may scan and e-mail the request to omb.appdocuments@state.or.us, fax it to 971-673-2672, or mail it to Oregon Medical Board, 1500 SW 1st Ave, Suite 620, Portland, OR 97201-5847.

      Include the following in your request:

  • Name (printed) and license number of both supervisor and PA
  • Primary practice address for the relationship
  • Specify Individual Supervision or Supervising Physician Organization (SPO)
  • If SPO, name of SPO
  • Effective date of the practice change
  • Details of the practice change
  • Signature with date of both supervisor and PA
 
PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS
As noted above, the supervising physician must initiate the process of submitting a practice agreement to the Board online. After doing so, the PA will be notified via e-mail that he or she must also log in to the Board’s Online Services, attest to and submit the details of the practice agreement for the submission to be complete. The Board will send written confirmation of the practice agreement being filed to the supervising physician and the PA.
 
DISPENSING AUTHORITY FOR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS
The supervising physician may request approval for dispensing authority for the PA as part of the practice agreement. The supervising physician must be registered with the Board as a dispensing physician. The PA may not dispense medication until the Board notifies the supervising physician that the PA has been granted dispensing authority.
  • Underserved dispensing may be requested for rural practice areas or medically underserved populations where pharmacy access is restricted to the patient because of geographic or financial restraints.
  • General dispensing may be requested for urban practice areas:  the PA may not dispense Schedule II through IV controlled substances; each facility from which the PA will dispense medications must be registered as a Supervising Physician Dispensing Outlet with the Oregon Board of Pharmacy, www.pharmacy.state.or.us; and the PA must complete a PA Drug Dispensing Training Program.  
 
TERMINATION OF SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP
The supervising physician and the PA must now report termination of a supervisory relationship online. When the initial termination report is made online by either the supervisor or the PA, both parties will be notified via e-mail that a termination report has been initiated by either the supervisor or the PA, and the other party will be instructed to submit an independent termination report. The Board must receive notice of termination from both the supervising physician and the PA within 15 days following termination of supervision.
 
To report termination of a supervisory relationship, log in to the Board’s Online Services using your license number and choose Practice Agreements in the lower left corner, under the Supervising Physicians section on the page.