Collaborative Agreements for Physician Assistants in Alaska
(Note: This article was updated on 09.22.26.)
Are you a physician assistant? Are you interested in working in the State of Alaska? In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about collaborative agreements (or collaborative plans) for physician assistants in Alaska, including the State of Alaska’s updated collaborative agreement rules, effective on September 16th, 2026.
While collaborative agreements may be called something different from state to state, such as a supervision agreement (MT), delegation agreement (WA), or collaborative practice agreement (ID), we’ll focus specifically on Alaska’s collaborative agreements.
What is a Collaborative Agreement?
According to the Alaska State Medical Board, a collaborative agreement/plan “is an agreement between a physician and a physician assistant (PA). The plan details the nature of the relationship by asking the physician to define the PA’s scope of practice, practice location, method of referrals, etc. There are minimum standards set by law; however, the plans can be customized to meet the needs of the practice, the physician, and the PA.”
The physician must agree to certain responsibilities, including being available for referrals and consultations and being an educational resource for the PA.
You can find additional guidelines and FAQs for Alaska State collaborative plans here.
Who Needs a Collaborative Agreement?
As of September 16, 2026, PAs may not need a collaborative agreement at all, if you work at:
- A facility directed by a licensed physician, osteopath, or podiatrist
- A facility licensed by the Alaska Department of Health
- A federal or tribal-operated facility
- A federally qualified health center or rural health clinic
- A military or veterans’ facility
For physician assistants who work at one of the facilities where a collaborative agreement is not needed by law, the facility still may request one.
If you do need an agreement, you only need one collaborating physician (no alternate needed). Additionally, the physician doesn’t have to be physically in Alaska, and they do not need to sign off separately on your prescriptive authority. You and your collaborating physician still put an agreement in writing; it doesn’t need to be filed with the board, just kept on hand in case they ask for it.
How Do I Get a Collaborative Agreement if the Facility I’m Working at Isn’t Exempt?
You (the physician assistant) and collaborating physician must have a Collaborative Agreement written out detailing the scope of practice. This document does not need to be sent to the Board of Medicine, but the Attestation form (see below) will need to be submitted stating that a Collaborative Agreement has been documented.
Physician Assistant Collaborative Agreement Attestation
An Attestation must be on file with the board for all physician assistants. One form covers it – VIEW THE FORM and additional details:
- If your Attestation is not filed, your license will show as “Not Authorized to Practice – No Collab Agreement” until it’s fixed, so you’ll want to ensure you complete this step.
- If you are working at more than one facility, you’ll need a separate Attestation for each one.
- If you work with WMS, the client or your WMS operations associate will file the Attestation on your behalf. For clinicians working at exempt facilities, the Attestation will be filed with the Board stating that you’ll be working at an approved facility. The Board will add a public note to your licensing listing that you have been approved to work at the facility without a collaborative agreement.
Questions?
You can find additional information through the Alaska State Department of Commerce website. For more information, please reach out to the Alaska State Medical Board.
If you’re a PA and you’re interested in working on an assignment in Alaska, we encourage you to reach out to our recruiting team or apply to our open assignments from our Open Jobs page.
