CRNA · Georgia
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in Georgia
Yes, a written physician agreement is required. Georgia does not name a specific instrument.
No independent-practice pathway exists. CRNA anesthesia administration runs under its own dedicated statute (§43-26-11.1), not the general APRN nurse-protocol framework — an execution/administration model tied to physician 'direction and responsibility,' not independent prescribing.
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
No proximity requirement
No codified numeric proximity/mileage requirement found under § 43-26-11.1 (the 50-mile rule is specific to the § 43-34-25 nurse-protocol framework and does not, on this research, extend to CRNA). Case law (Central Anesthesia Assoc. v. Worthy, 254 Ga. 728 (1985)) interpreted 'direction and responsibility' as requiring 'direct supervision' by a physician (not a PA) — but that holding involved a student nurse anesthetist, a fact pattern distinguishable from ordinary certified-CRNA practice; don't over-read it as a general physical-presence rule. A DCH hospital-licensing rule (GAC 111-8-40-.29) separately requires anesthesia services be 'directed by a qualified physician member of the medical staff' at the facility level.
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
CRNAs cannot hold a § 43-34-25 protocol at all — that statute expressly excludes them (§ 43-34-25(i)) — so the hydrocodone/oxycodone exception other APRNs get under it does not extend to CRNAs; see agreementRequiredNote.
Written agreement
Required
Georgia's CRNA framework is distinct from other APRNs': O.C.G.A. § 43-26-11.1 requires anesthesia to be 'administered under the direction and responsibility of a duly licensed physician' — an order/delegation model tied to a specific physician, not a filed § 43-34-25 nurse protocol agreement. CONFIRMED verbatim: § 43-34-25(i) itself states 'nothing in this Code section shall be construed to apply to the practice of a certified registered nurse anesthetist' — CRNAs are categorically excluded from that statute, not merely unlikely to use it. § 43-26-11.1 is CRNAs' ONLY statutory framework in Georgia; the § 43-34-25 hydrocodone/oxycodone exception other APRNs get does not apply to them at all. Corroborated by GAC 360-8-.02 (pain management clinics), which lists § 43-34-25-protocol APRNs and § 43-26-11.1 CRNAs as two separate categories.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same framework as `np` — O.C.G.A. § 14-7-5 explicitly lists 'registered professional nursing' as its own eligible profession for PC ownership, confirmed directly (see `np` entry); applies identically to CRNA as a nursing licensee.
Legal sources for these rules (6)
- O.C.G.A. § 43-26-11.1 — Administration of anesthesia by a CRNAsecondary
- O.C.G.A. § 43-34-25(i) — explicit CRNA exclusion ('nothing in this Code section shall be construed to apply to the practice of a certified registered nurse anesthetist')secondary
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 360-8-.02 — Pain Management Clinics (treats §43-34-25-protocol APRNs and §43-26-11.1 CRNAs as separate categories)secondary
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 410-11-.04 — Rules for CRNAs (education/certification; via Cornell LII mirror)secondary
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 111-8-40-.29 — Anesthesia Services (DCH hospital licensing)
- Central Anesthesia Associates, P.C. v. Worthy, 254 Ga. 728 (1985) — 'direct supervision' holding, fact-specific to a student nurse anesthetist
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Georgia
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Standard-tier state.
About Georgia's rules
Georgia remains one of the more restrictive states in this dataset — no independent-practice pathway exists for NP/PMHNP/CRNA/CNM/CNS, and a 50-mile APRN physician-proximity rule was NOT removed by 2023-2024 reform (a common misconception). That reform raised the ratio cap (4→a combined 8 APRNs+PAs) and added a narrow hydrocodone/oxycodone-only Schedule II exception — APRNs/PAs are otherwise barred from Schedule II. Georgia's primary-source sites were unusually inaccessible this pass; treat citations with extra caution pending follow-up.
Other clinicians in Georgia: see the state overview.