PA · Illinois
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Physician Assistants in Illinois
Yes, a written physician agreement is required. Illinois calls it a Written Collaborative Agreement.
No independent-practice pathway exists for PAs in Illinois — a supervision agreement (or a collaborative arrangement for a higher ratio, see supervisionRatio) with one or more physicians is required for as long as the PA practices (225 ILCS 95, Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987).
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
Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
No fixed mile/minute radius or on-site requirement is codified; the supervision/collaborative agreement governs availability for consultation.
Supervision ratio
standard supervision agreement: Up to 5 at a time
A supervising physician may supervise up to 5 full-time-equivalent (40 hrs/week) PAs, reduced by the number of separate collaborative agreements the physician also maintains (225 ILCS 95/7).
collaborative arrangement (rather than a supervision agreement): Up to 7 at a time
Up to 7 full-time-equivalent PAs under a collaborative arrangement (225 ILCS 95/7). Hospitals, hospital affiliates, FQHCs, and ambulatory surgical treatment centers are exempt from both ratio caps.
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Prescriptive scope, including controlled substances, must be set out in the written supervision agreement; a specific Illinois schedule limit for PAs was not confirmed in this research pass.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — A PA-owned clinical entity performing medical acts falls outside the physician-only Medical Corporation Act (805 ILCS 15); PAs instead use a professional service corporation (805 ILCS 10) or PLLC (805 ILCS 185) held by PA licensees, or co-own such an entity with physicians where permitted.
This ownership question is legally distinct from the clinical supervision agreement above.
Legal sources for these rules (2)
- 225 ILCS 95 — Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987secondary
- 805 ILCS 15 — Medical Corporation Act
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Illinois
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About Illinois's rules
The 2017 Nurse Practice Act reform (P.A. 100-0513) lets NP/CNM/CNS attest to full practice authority after 4,000 hours under a written collaborative agreement plus 250 hours of CE — CRNAs are not included in that attestation pathway. The Medical Corporation Act (805 ILCS 15) restricts clinical-entity ownership to physicians; APRNs/PAs may still use a professional service corporation or PLLC of their own licensees.
Other clinicians in Illinois: see the state overview.