§ 18.5. Collaborative agreements.
(a) A nurse-midwife may not engage in midwifery practice without having entered into a collaborative agreement and having filed the collaborative agreement with the Board.
(b) A nurse-midwife shall only engage in midwifery practice in accordance with the midwife practice guidelines and collaborative agreements.
(c) A collaborative agreement must contain either an acknowledgement that the nurse-midwife shall practice under the midwife practice guidelines, or that the nurse-midwife shall practice under the midwife practice guidelines as expanded or modified in the collaborative agreement.
(d) Expansions and modifications of the midwife practice guidelines agreed to by the nurse-midwife and the collaborating physician shall be set forth, in detail, in the collaborative agreement.
(e) If the collaborating physician intends to authorize the nurse-midwife to relay to other health care providers medical regimens prescribed by that physician, including drug regimens, that authority, as well as the prescribed regimens, shall be set forth in the collaborative agreement.
(f) The physician with whom a nurse-midwife has a collaborative agreement shall have hospital privileges or a formal arrangement for patient admission to a hospital and shall practice in the specialty area of the care for which the physician is providing collaborative services.
(g) Collaborative agreements must meet the following requirements:
(1) The agreement must provide a predetermined plan for emergency services, and immediate availability of a physician to the nurse-midwife by direct communication or by radio, telephone or other telecommunication for consultation, co-management, or transfer of care as indicated by the health status of the patient.
(2) The agreement must identify and be signed by at least one collaborating physician and the nurse-midwife.
(3) A physician providing coverage need not be signatory to the collaborative agreement, but shall agree to adhere to the terms of the collaborative agreement, and shall be identified by name of physician, or name of group, or name of service.
(4) A physician providing interim coverage need not be signatory to the collaborative agreement, but shall agree to adhere to the terms of the collaborative agreement.
(5) Both the collaborating physician and the nurse-midwife are responsible to assure adherence to the terms and conditions of the collaborative agreement by themselves, others as appropriate within their practice groups, and physicians providing coverage.
(h) The collaborative agreement must satisfy the substantive requirements set forth in subsections (a)—(e) and be consistent with relevant provisions of the act and this subchapter, and must be filed with the Board. For a nurse-midwife with prescriptive authority, the collaborative agreement with a physician must identify the categories of drugs from which the nurse-midwife may prescribe or dispense and any restrictions thereto.
(i) A nurse-midwife or collaborating physician shall provide immediate access to the collaborative agreement to any client, pharmacist, licensed health care facility, licensed health care provider, physician, or the Board seeking to confirm the scope of the nurse-midwife’s authority, and the nurse-midwife’s ability to prescribe or dispense a drug.
Authority The provisions of this § 18.5 amended under section 2 of the act of April 4, 1929 (P. L. 160, No. 155) (63 P. S. § 172); and sections 8, 12 and 35(a) of the Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P. S. § § 422.8, 422.12 and 422.35(a)).
Source The provisions of this § 18.5 adopted January 2, 1987, effective immediately and applies retroactively to December 31, 1986, 17 Pa.B. 24; amended May 19, 1989, effective May 20, 1989, 19 Pa.B. 2161; amended April 3, 2009, effective April 4, 2009, 39 Pa.B. 1625. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (222902).
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