&gt; You can&#x27;t book an appointment with most of these directly, and not all of them can write prescriptions legally.<p>So I think that varies from state to state.<p>[Anecdote warning] When I was in grad school, at least, I was able to directly book appointments at the student health center with PAs, MDs and DOs (perhaps a university-run health center is different, somehow?).  I also don&#x27;t recall ever facing difficulty having a prescription written.<p>My understanding is that a PAs can&#x27;t open their own practice, but that several PAs can function more or less independently under the supervision of one MD&#x2F;DO principal.