In 2017, PA Mandie Miller (formerly Mandie Anderson) became the first physician assistant in the state of Arizona to own and operate her own outpatient psychiatric practice. 

 

While physician assistants (PAs) initially work under the medicolegal supervision of a medical (MD) or osteopathic (DO) doctor, they can own and manage their own practices.  Dr. Paul Boulware, Johns Hopkins trained and board-certified psychiatrist, took Mandie as his first psychiatric student in February 2010, and they worked side by side for nearly three years thereafter. 

 

In 2017, Dr. Boulware generously joined forces with PA Mandie as her supervising physician again, to make the dream of Pinnacle Psychiatry a reality.

 

In May 2022, our wonderful friend and colleague, board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Patricia Kirby, joined our team as a practicing psychiatrist, and carried the torch from Dr. Boulware as our collaborating physician.
​

In January 2024, Arizona's collaborative practice bill was enacted, enabling PAs with >8,000 hours of clinical practice in the past 5 years to practice in collaboration with, but no longer requiring direct supervision by, a physician. Fortunately, PAs Mandie and Erin far exceed these hourly requirements, and have been specialized in psychiatry since completion of PA school in 2011 and 2020, respectively.

​

As of 2026, the Pinnacle Psychiatry team most often collaborates with board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Gerhard Gomez of Interventional Psychiatry of Arizona.