PA · West Virginia
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Physician Assistants in West Virginia
Yes, a written physician agreement is required. West Virginia calls it a Practice Notification.
Under current law, PAs 'shall practice in collaboration with physicians' with no experience/hours-based exit (W. Va. Code St. R. § 24-2-8). SB 956 (2026), which would eliminate this entirely and let PAs own practices, was still moving through the House as of this research pass — its final status could not be confirmed; verify before assuming it's in effect.
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)
'Constant physical presence of the collaborating physician is not required as long as the collaborating physician and physician assistant are, or can be, easily in contact with one another' — no codified mile/minute radius located.
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
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Prescriptive scope is set by the collaboration agreement/practice notification filed with the Board of Medicine; a specific schedule-level numeric limit for PAs (distinct from the APRN 3-day-Schedule-II rule noted under `np`) was not confirmed in this research pass.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Authorized Medical Corporation under W. Va. Code § 30-3-15 — requires 100% physician/podiatric-physician shareholder ownership; PAs may be EMPLOYEES of such a corporation but, under current law, may not hold shares. (SB 956, if it becomes law, would add PAs as eligible shareholders — not yet confirmed in effect; see state-level notes.)
Legal sources for these rules (4)
- W. Va. Code St. R. § 24-2-8 — Collaborative Practice Requirementssecondary
- W. Va. Code § 30-3-15 — Authorized Medical Corporationssecondary
- WV Board of Medicine — Physicians Assistants Practice Act overview
- SB 956 (2026, status unconfirmed as of this research pass) — PA business ownership / end of mandatory collaborationsecondary
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in West Virginia
$500 – $700
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About West Virginia's rules
code.wvlegislature.gov would not serve statute text during this research pass (anomalous redirect, not followed) — sourcing below leans on WV Board of Nursing/Medicine/Pharmacy materials and secondary sources; confidence is lower than for states with direct statute access. SB 956 (2026), which would let PAs own practices and end mandatory collaboration, had NOT confirmed final passage/signature as of this research pass — treat PA entries below as the current, not the pending, law.
Other clinicians in West Virginia: see the state overview.