Clinical Supervision Requirements

It is the intent of these rules to maximize the collaborative practice of certified nurse practitioners and supervising physicians in a manner consistent with quality health care delivery. (1) A supervising physician, certified nurse practitioner or a substitute supervising physician must possess a current, unencumbered license to practice in the state of Tennessee. (2) Supervision does not require the continuous and constant presence of the supervising physician; however, the supervising physician must be available for consultation at all times or shall make arrangements for a substitute physician to be available. (3) A supervising physician and/or substitute supervising physician shall have experience and/or expertise in the same area of medicine as the certified nurse practitioner. (4) Nurse Practitioners who hold a temporary certificate of fitness shall be supervised pursuant to T.C.A. § 63-7-123 and Board of Nursing rule 1000-04-.04. Such supervision requires the physical presence of either the supervising physician or certified nurse practitioner. RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE UTILIZATION CHAPTER 0880-06 AND SUPERVISION OF THE SERVICES OF A NURSE PRACTITIONER/PRESCRIPTION WRITER (5) Protocols are required and: (a) Shall be jointly developed and approved by the supervising physician and nurse practitioner; (b) Shall outline and cover the applicable standard of care; (c) Shall be reviewed and updated biennially; (d) Shall be maintained at the practice site; (e) Shall account for all protocol drugs by appropriate formulary; (f) Shall be specific to the population seen; (g) Shall be dated and signed; and (h) Copies of protocols and formularies shall be maintained at the practice site and shall be made available upon request for inspection by the respective boards. (6) The supervising physician shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the applicable standard of care under (5). Additionally, the supervising physician shall develop clinical guidelines in collaboration with the certified nurse practitioner to include a method for documenting consultation and referral. (7) Once every ten (10) business days the supervising physician shall make a personal review of the historical, physical and therapeutic data and shall so certify by signature on any patient within thirty (30) days: (a) When medically indicated; (b) When requested by the patient; (c) When prescriptions written by the certified nurse practitioner fall outside the protocols; (d) When prescriptions are written by a nurse practitioner who possesses a temporary certificate of fitness; and (e) when a controlled drug has been prescribed. (8) In any event, a supervising physician shall personally review at least twenty percent (20%) of charts monitored or written by the certified nurse practitioner every thirty (30) days. (9) The supervising physician shall be required to visit any remote site at least once every thirty (30) days (10) Any prescription written and signed or drug issued by a nurse practitioner under the supervision and control of a supervising physician shall be deemed to be that of the nurse practitioner. (11) The supervising physician shall make provision for preprinted prescription pads bearing the name, address and telephone number of the supervising physician and that of the nurse practitioner. The nurse practitioner shall sign his or her own name on each prescription so written. Where the preprinted prescription pad contains the names of more than one (1) RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE UTILIZATION CHAPTER 0880-06 AND SUPERVISION OF THE SERVICES OF A NURSE PRACTITIONER/PRESCRIPTION WRITER physician, the nurse practitioner shall indicate on the prescription which of those physicians is the nurse practitioner's primary supervising physician by placing a checkmark beside or a circle around the name of that physician. (12) Eligible certified nurse practitioners shall use numbers assigned to them by the DEA when prescribing controlled substances.