CNS · Utah
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Clinical Nurse Specialists in Utah
No. Clinical Nurse Specialists practice independently here. Utah does not require one.
S.B. 36 (2023) eliminated the collaborating-physician contract requirement for CNSs along with other APRN roles — CNSs practice independently with no agreement.
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 collaborating-physician relationship required post-S.B. 36.
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
CNSs prescribe within their own Utah Controlled Substance License and DEA registration with no agreement-based gating post-S.B. 36.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional since S.B. 36 (2023).
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Professional Corporation (Title 16, Ch. 11) or Professional LLC (§ 48-3a-1106) — a CNS may independently own a single-profession nursing PC/PLLC; non-licensees may not hold equity.
Legal sources for these rules (2)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Utah
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Clinical Nurse Specialist. Standard-tier state.
About Utah's rules
S.B. 36 (2023) eliminated the physician-collaboration/contract requirement for ALL APRN roles (NP, CRNA, CNM, CNS), not just NPs — Utah is a full-independence state across the APRN scope. PAs remain on a separate, hours-tiered collaboration model (Utah Code § 58-70a-307) with no numeric ratio cap or chart-review percentage codified.
Other clinicians in Utah: see the state overview.