What must the supervising physician actually do in Tennessee?
Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
For a physician assistant — jointly develop and approve protocols with the PA that cover the applicable standard of care, review and update them biennially, and keep them at the practice site.
Protocols are mandatory and have a maintenance schedule: they shall be jointly developed and approved by the supervising physician and the physician assistant, shall outline and cover the applicable standard of care, shall be reviewed and updated biennially, and shall be maintained at the practice site.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.18(5) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related Tennessee rules
⚠️ a laser procedure is the practice of medicine. Any procedure encompassed within the definition of the practice of medicine that is to be performed BY USE OF A LASER shall be considered the practice of medicine, and any person performing such a procedure must be under the supervision of a licensed physician — subject only to the narrow exceptions the rule cross-references for other licensed professions.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.14(10) · verified Sep 2, 2026
Supervision of a physician assistant DOES NOT require the continuous and constant presence of the supervising physician — but the physician must be available for consultation at all times, or must arrange for a substitute physician to be available. The supervising physician and any substitute must hold a current, unencumbered Tennessee license.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.18(1) and (2) · verified Sep 2, 2026
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Related Tennessee questions
- Does a med spa in Tennessee need a medical director?
- Who may operate a cosmetic laser in Tennessee?
- May an esthetician or laser technician perform microneedling in Tennessee?
Get Tennessee changes as they publish
We scan the Tennessee legislature and licensing boards daily, plus the FDA and the Federal Register. Free weekly Brief — what changed, in plain language, with the source.
Free · unsubscribe in one click · we never sell your address
← All Tennessee rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference: it summarizes public laws, regulations and agency actions and links each to its source. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. A summary can lag its source or leave out detail, and monitoring itself can be interrupted — so an absence of alerts means nothing reached you, not that nothing happened. Read the cited source, check its effective date, and confirm any change to your operations or clinical practice with qualified health-law counsel and your medical director. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).