According to Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations a physician may delegate limited prescriptive authority to an advanced practice nurse (APN) or a physician assistant (PA) which may include prescribing and dispensing of legend drugs and controlled substances categorized as Schedule II, III, IV or V controlled substances, as defined by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.
As amended by Public Act 097‐0358, specific Schedule II controlled substances by oral dosage or topical or transdermal application may be delegated. This delegation must identify specific Schedule II controlled substances by either brand or generic name and must be maintained with the collaborative or supervision agreement. Schedule II controlled substances to be delivered by injection or other route of administration may not be delegated. The collaborating or supervising physician may only delegate controlled substances that he or she prescribes. Any prescription must be limited to no more than a 30‐day supply, with any continuation authorized only after prior approval of the collaborating or supervising physician.
An APN or PA who does NOT currently hold an IL CS license should submit an application, Notice of Delegated Prescriptive Authority for Controlled Substances form and the application fee. PAs must also submit the Notice of Employment or Supervisory Control. Evidence of completion of at least 45 graduate contact hours or 3 academic semester hours in pharmacology must be submitted to obtain Schedule II prescriptive authority for all new controlled substances applications. Please refer to the application packet instructions available on the profession information page at www.idfpr.com.
To add Schedule II prescriptive authority to an existing controlled substances license, an updated Notice of Prescriptive Authority form and official transcript or letter from the school verifying completion of 45 graduate contact hours or 3 semester hours in pharmacology must be submitted if the original CS license was issued after July 1, 2011. There is no fee to add Schedule II. The license will not be reprinted and the original license does not need to be returned because the schedules are not printed on the license. The written collaborative or supervision agreements should be updated to reflect Schedule II controlled substances delegation.
If an APN or PA currently holds a controlled substances license with Schedule II prescriptive authority, the collaborative or supervision agreement should be updated to include new Schedule II prescriptive guidelines. No documentation is required to be submitted to the Department.
The application packet and Notice of Delegated Prescriptive Authority form are available on the profession information page for APNs and PAs at www.idfpr.com.
After receiving or updating the Illinois controlled substances license, and APN or PA must then apply for a permit
with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA application is also on line and available at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/index.html.
