(1) A physician shall not supervise a physician assistant without approval of the board.
Failure to obtain board approval as a supervising physician or failure to comply with the requirements of KRS § 311.840 to KRS § 311.862 or related administrative regulations shall be considered unprofessional conduct and shall be subject to disciplinary action by the board that may include revocation, suspension, restriction, or placing on probation the supervising physician’s right to supervise a physician assistant.

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 311.854

  • Action: includes all proceedings in any court of this state. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.

(2) To be approved by the board as a supervising physician, a physician shall: (a) Be currently licensed and in good standing with the board;
(b) Maintain a practice primarily within this Commonwealth. The board in its discretion may modify or waive this requirement;
(c) Submit a completed application and the required fee to the board. The application shall include but is not limited to:
1. A description of the nature of the physician’s practice;
2. A statement of assurance by the supervising physician that the scope of medical services and procedures described in the application or in any supplemental information shall not exceed the normal scope of practice of the supervising physician;
3. A description of the means by which the physician shall maintain communication with the physician assistant when they are not in the same physical location;
4. The name, address, and area of practice of one (1) or more physicians who agree in writing to accept responsibility for supervising the physician assistant in the absence of the supervising physician;
5. A description of the scope of medical services and procedures to be performed by the physician assistant for which the physician assistant has been trained in an approved program; and
6. An outline of the specific parameters for review of countersignatures.
(3) Prior to a physician assistant performing any service or procedure beyond those described in the initial application submitted to the board under subsection (2)(c) of this section, the supervising physician shall supplement that application with information that includes but is not limited to:
(a) A description of the additional service or procedure;
(b) A description of the physician assistant’s education, training, experience, and institutional credentialing;
(c) A description of the level of supervision to be provided for the additional service or procedure;
(d) The location or locations where the additional service or procedure will be provided; and
(e) Any changes to the specific parameters for review of countersignatures.
The initial and supplemental applications required under this section may be submitted to the board at the same time.
(4) A physician who has been supervising a physician assistant prior to July 15, 2002, may continue supervision and the physician assistant may continue to perform all medical services and procedures that were provided by the physician assistant prior to July 15, 2002. The supervising physician shall submit the initial application and any supplemental application as required in this section by October 15, 2002.
(5) A physician may enter into supervision agreements with no more than four (4) physician assistants and shall not supervise more than four (4) physician assistants at any one (1) time. Application for board approval to be a supervising physician shall be obtained individually for each physician assistant.
(6) The board may impose restrictions on the scope of practice of a physician assistant or on the methods of supervision by the supervising physician upon consideration of recommendations of the Physician Assistant Advisory Committee established in KRS § 311.842 after providing the applicant with reasonable notice of its intended action and after providing a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
Effective: July 15, 2016
History: Amended 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 88, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2016. — Amended
2015 Ky. Acts ch. 123, sec. 1, effective June 24, 2015. — Created 2002 Ky. Acts ch.
130, sec. 30, effective July 15, 2002.