Duties of supervising physician
KRS 311.856
in effect311.856. Duties of supervising physician
A supervising physician shall:
(1) Restrict the services of a physician assistant to services within the physician assistant's scope of practice and to the provisions of KRS 311.840 to 311.862;
(2) Prohibit a physician assistant from dispensing controlled substances;
(3) Prohibit a physician assistant from prescribing or administering controlled substances, except as provided in KRS 311.858(4);
(4) Require a physician assistant to wear identification that clearly states that he or she is a physician assistant;
(5) Prohibit a physician assistant from independently billing any patient or other payor for services rendered by the physician assistant;
(6) If necessary, participate with the governing body of any hospital or other licensed health care facility in a credentialing process established by the facility;
(7) Not require a physician assistant to perform services or other acts that the physician assistant feels incapable of carrying out safely and properly;
(8) Maintain supervision as outlined in the supervision agreement requirement described in KRS 311.854 to ensure that the physician assistant is performing as directed and complying with the agreement; and
(9) Notify the board within three (3) business days if the supervising physician:
(a) Ceases to supervise or employ the physician assistant; or
(b) Believes in good faith that a physician assistant violated any disciplinary rule of KRS 311.840 to 311.862 or related administrative regulations.
Effective: July 15, 2026
History: Amended 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 94, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2026. -- Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 39, sec. 4, effective July 15, 2020. -- Amended 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 88, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2016. -- Amended 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 41, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2014. -- Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 78, sec. 9, effective July 12, 2006. -- Created 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 130, sec. 31, effective July 15, 2002. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/12/2006). 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 78, sec. 11, provides: "A physician assistant who is certified in Kentucky and in good standing on the effective date of this Act [July 12, 2006] shall automatically be licensed under Sections 1 to 10 of this Act [KRS 311.840, 311.842, 311.844, 311.845, 311.846, 311.848, 311.850, 311.852, 311.856, and 311.862] and shall be issued a physician assistant license upon annual renewal."
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2002). Although 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 130, sec. 31, subsection (1), has a reference to "Sections 32 to 34 of this Act" (which sections were codified as KRS 311.858 and 311.862) that reference has been codified as KRS 311.840 to 311.862" as the reference to "Sections 32..." was a manifest clerical or typographical error that should have read "Sections 23..." and has been corrected in codification under KRS 7.136(1)(h).
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57573Fetched: 10/20/2026