Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Cheat Sheet for Pennsylvania
Requirements for Supervising Physician agreements in Pennsylvania, plus a free agreement builder tailored to Pennsylvania law.
Provider supervision requirements in Pennsylvania
Updated 2026-09-03
Provided for educational and research purposes only — this is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change frequently, and this content may contain errors or omissions. Always confirm current requirements with a licensed attorney before relying on this for compliance decisions.
Pennsylvania has no independent-practice pathway for CRNPs — SB 25-style full-practice-authority bills have been introduced every session without passing. PA (physician assistant) reform via Acts 78/79 of 2021 removed prior Board pre-approval of written agreements and the flat 100%-countersignature rule after the first year, but a written agreement and supervision remain mandatory. PA is a CPOM state: only licensed physicians may own a medical professional corporation.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Pennsylvania's Professional Nursing Law and CRNP regulations (49 Pa. Code Chapter 21, Subchapter C) don't carve out a separate framework for psychiatric-mental-health NPs — PMHNPs follow the same Collaborative Agreement regime as any other CRNP (see the general `np` entry). This entry exists for its own page/URL/calculator weight, not a legal distinction.
Proximity
Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
Same standard as general CRNPs — collaborating physician must be immediately available in person or by telecommunication (49 Pa. Code § 21.285).Chart review
Not codified — left to the practice agreement
Prescriptive authority
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Same statutory framework as general CRNPs — no PMHNP-specific schedule limit was found. PMHNP prescribing in practice skews toward Schedule II stimulants and Schedule IV benzodiazepines/hypnotics more heavily than general primary-care CRNP prescribing — a risk/complexity difference, not a different legal limit (reflected in calculatorWeights, not this rule).Practice ownership (CPOM)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same as the general `np` entry — practice ownership by a CRNP (including a PMHNP-focused CRNP) is not expressly addressed by statute; treat as unconfirmed/open.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — left to the practice agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the practice agreement
Written agreement
Required
$750–$1,150/mo
Estimated PMHNP supervision cost in Pennsylvania
Available Supervising Physicians in Pennsylvania
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