Can the pre-treatment exam be done by telehealth in District of Columbia?
Intake · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
Yes — a practitioner-patient relationship may be established by telehealth if it meets the applicable standard of care and the practitioner's scope of practice; the cited rules impose no in-person exam, though the Mayor may add one by rulemaking.
A practitioner-patient or practitioner-client relationship may be established through telehealth in accordance with the appropriate standard of care and the practitioner’s competence and scope of practice; provided, that the Mayor may through rulemaking issue additional requirements for specific health professionals to establish a practitioner-client relationship, including an initial in-person physical examination.
D.C. Code §3-1201.05(b) · verified Sep 3, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
The rest of what District of Columbia says on this
A health professional licensed, registered, or certified in the District may provide a telehealth service to a District resident or person located in the District if doing so is consistent with the applicable standard of care in the District and the health professional’s scope of authorized practice in the District, and not otherwise prohibited by law or regulation.
D.C. Code §3-1201.05(a) · verified Sep 3, 2026
A health professional who provides a telehealth service shall do so in a manner consistent with the standard of care applicable to a health professional who provides a comparable health care service in person in the District.
D.C. Code §3-1201.05(c)(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Related District of Columbia questions
- Is an exam required before a patient can be treated in District of Columbia?
- Can a med spa in District of Columbia offer compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide?
Get District of Columbia changes as they publish
We scan the District of Columbia legislature and licensing boards daily, plus the FDA and the Federal Register. Free weekly Brief — what changed, in plain language, with the source.
Free · unsubscribe in one click · we never sell your address
← All District of Columbia rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference: it summarizes public laws, regulations and agency actions and links each to its source. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. A summary can lag its source or leave out detail, and monitoring itself can be interrupted — so an absence of alerts means nothing reached you, not that nothing happened. Read the cited source, check its effective date, and confirm any change to your operations or clinical practice with qualified health-law counsel and your medical director. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).