PMHNP · Delaware
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners in Delaware
Yes, a written physician agreement is required. Delaware does not name a specific instrument.
Delaware's APRN statute/rule (24 Del.C. § 1906(20); 24 DE Admin. Code 1900 § 8.0) does not carve out a separate framework for PMHNPs — this entry exists for its own page/URL/calculator weight, not a legal distinction; any difference from `np` here is this app's own cost-model judgment.
Independent practice requires: ≥2 years of collaborative practice; ≥4,000 hours of clinical practice with a physician or experienced APRN in the PMHNP population focus.
What the collaboration must look like
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
below the 2-year/4,000-hour transition threshold: Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
Same standard as general NPs — no codified mile/minute radius (24 DE Admin. Code 1900 § 8.0).
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
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Same statutory framework as general NPs; psychiatric prescribing in practice skews toward Schedule II stimulants and Schedule IV benzodiazepines more heavily — a real-world risk/complexity difference, not a different legal limit (reflected in calculatorWeights, not this rule).
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same as the general `np` entry — a professional (service) corporation under 8 Del.C. Ch. 6 owned by nursing licensees; non-licensees may not hold equity.
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Delaware
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Standard-tier state.
About Delaware's rules
Delaware grants full independent practice to APRNs (NP/CRNA/CNM/CNS) after a uniform 2-year/4,000-hour transition period (24 Del.C. § 1906(20); 24 DE Admin. Code 1900 § 8.0) — this research pass treats that rule as applying identically across all four APRN roles; confirm role-specific nuance with the Board of Nursing before relying on it. PAs have no independent-practice pathway.
Other clinicians in Delaware: see the state overview.