Practice Agreement · NP
Nurse Practitioner Practice Agreement in New Mexico
New Mexico law does not require a Nurse Practitioner to hold a named agreement with a physician. Practices still use one to define the working relationship; here is what it covers and what the state does require.
New Mexico has granted NPs full, independent practice authority since 1994 — no supervising or collaborating physician relationship is required from licensure onward. NPs may serve as medical directors in New Mexico, unlike PAs.
What a Nurse Practitioner practice agreement covers in New Mexico
Governed by the New Mexico Board of Nursing and the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy. Each numbered item is a statutory requirement the agreement must satisfy.
New Mexico does not require the Nurse Practitioner to enter into a supervision or collaboration agreement with a physician. The Nurse Practitioner independently assesses, diagnoses, orders and interprets tests, treats, and prescribes legend drugs and Schedule II through V controlled substances, subject to New Mexico Board of Nursing and Board of Pharmacy controlled-substance registration, in any appropriate setting, consistent with NMSA § 61-3-23.2.
This Agreement's terms regarding the Nurse Practitioner accordingly serve to define the working relationship, referral pathways, and any Medical Director oversight between the Parties, and are not themselves required by New Mexico law as a condition of the Nurse Practitioner's authority to practice.
- The agreement on file also carries 1 scope, 1 education, 1 registration clauses, generated in the document itself.
Statutes and rules cited
- 16.19.4 NMACregulation
New Mexico Board of Pharmacy rule governing pharmacist clinician certification, protocol requirements, and prescriptive authority.
Terms it has to carry
Ratio, proximity, chart review, meeting and prescribing terms the agreement has to carry, from the state's supervision rules.
Proximity
No proximity requirement
No physician proximity/availability requirement is codified for NP practice.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
May independently prescribe dangerous drugs and Schedule II–V controlled substances (§ 61-3-23.2, NMSA) per Board of Nursing rules/formulary (16.12.2 NMAC); requires state controlled-substance registration and DEA registration.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional — no collaborative or supervisory agreement is required for NP practice at any point.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — New Mexico professional corporations must be owned entirely by licensees of the same profession — an NP may independently own an NP-only PC/PLLC without physician co-ownership.
Legal sources for these rules (3)
About New Mexico's rules
New Mexico has no corporate-practice-of-medicine doctrine (1987 A.G. opinion) — non-physician entities may employ physicians if clinical judgment isn't controlled — but professional corporations must still be single-profession owned (a PA/NP/etc. entity can't mix ownership with physicians). NP/CRNA/CNM/CNS practice independently with full prescriptive authority (Schedules II–V); PA remains the outlier requiring ongoing physician involvement.
Other clinicians in New Mexico: see the state overview.