Physician duties · PMHNP · Puerto Rico
Signing for a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Puerto Rico: what the physician takes on
The agreement is mandatory for the clinician, which makes its duties mandatory for you. Puerto Rico does not name a specific instrument.
Ley 254-2015 does not carve out a separate framework for psychiatric-mental health NPs — PMHNPs fall under the same 'Nurse Practitioner' advanced-practice category and collaborative-protocol requirement as the general `np` entry. This entry exists for its own page/URL/calculator weight, not a codified legal distinction.
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
Not codified — left to the agreement
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
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
Psychiatric prescribing in practice skews toward Category III–IV stimulants and benzodiazepines more heavily than general NP practice — not a different legal limit, reflected only in calculatorWeights below.
Written agreement
Required
Same as general `np` — unconditional for diagnostic/prescribing functions under Ley 254-2015's collaborative-protocol requirement.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same as the general `np` entry — Corporación Profesional under Ley 164-2009, Cap. 238; PR's nursing statute does not distinguish PMHNPs from other NP specialties for ownership purposes.
Legal sources for these rules (1)
What physicians charge for this role
Typical monthly compensation in Puerto Rico
$500 – $800
Estimate for one Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. This state's rules add a restrictive-tier premium.
About Puerto Rico's rules
PR's 'Médico Asistente' (PA) credential is NOT the mainland PA profession — it is a bridge pathway mainly for internationally-trained physicians awaiting PR licensure (Ley 71-2017), capped at 2 per supervising physician with zero prescriptive authority. APRNs (NP/CNM/CRNA/CNS) need patient-level collaborative protocols with a physician for nearly all diagnostic/prescriptive functions (Ley 254-2015) despite AANP rating PR 'Reduced Practice.' No dedicated esthetician license currently exists.
Other clinicians in Puerto Rico: see the state overview.