Physician duties · CRNA · Arkansas
Signing for a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist in Arkansas: what the physician takes on
The agreement is mandatory for the clinician, which makes its duties mandatory for you. Arkansas does not name a specific instrument.
Genuine, unresolved ambiguity — flagged for legal review. Arkansas's Nurse Practice Act requires CRNAs to practice under the supervision of (not necessarily in the presence of) a physician/dentist entitled to order anesthesia. FIPCC (§ 17-87-314) explicitly excludes CRNAs. A widely repeated 'Medicare opt-out' claim reflects a federal reimbursement mechanism, not a state-law change.
What you take on as the physician
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
The Nurse Practice Act's 'supervision of, but not necessarily in the presence of,' language reads as not requiring geographic on-site presence, but no numeric radius was found — flag this proximity type as a reasonable reading of ambiguous statutory language, not a confirmed standard.
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
Perioperative drug administration 'in consultation with' the ordering practitioner per HB 1198 (2021); no independent Schedule-specific carve-out found beyond that scope.
Written agreement
Required
House Bill 1198 (2021) requires CRNAs to administer perioperative anesthesia-related drugs 'only in consultation with' a physician/dentist/other qualified practitioner already entitled to order anesthesia — a scope-of-practice condition rather than a filed collaborative practice agreement like CNP/CNS's.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same general Arkansas CPOM framework as other APRN entries — no CRNA-specific ownership rule was found in this research pass.
Legal sources for these rules (3)
- Arkansas Nurse Practice Act — CRNA supervision language
- House Bill 1198 (2021) — CRNA Perioperative Consultation Requirement
- Ark. Code Ann. § 17-87-314 — FIPCC (confirms CRNAs are excluded from the 6,240-hour independence pathway)
What physicians charge for this role
Typical monthly compensation in Arkansas
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About Arkansas's rules
Act 412 of 2021 created a 6,240-hour Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committee (FIPCC) pathway for CNPs and CNSs only — CRNAs and CNMs are excluded from FIPCC and follow their own frameworks. CRNA independent-practice status is a genuine, unresolved ambiguity (see that entry) — a widely repeated 'Medicare opt-out' claim doesn't equal a change to AR's own supervision statute.
Other clinicians in Arkansas: see the state overview.