Practice authority can be defined as a nurse practitioner's (NP) authority to practice with or without physician oversight. Prescriptive authority refers to a nurse practitioner’s authority to prescribe medications. Some states require nurse practitioners to have a relationship with a physician that outlines procedures the nurse practitioner may perform and procedures for consulting with the physician, including outlining the nurse practitioner's prescribing authority.
In some states, statute specifies whether nurse practitioners must complete a transition to practice period before practicing or prescribing independently. In other states, nurse practitioners have full independent practice and prescriptive authority, meaning they practice independently with no physician oversight.
The map below shows the range of practice and prescriptive authority for nurse practitioners by state, D.C. and territory. The range of authority includes:
- Full independent practice and prescriptive authority
- Full independent practice authority but transition to independent prescribing period
- Full independent practice authority but physician relationship required for prescriptive authority
- Transition to independent practice and prescribing period required
- Physician relationship required