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Is an exam required before a patient can be treated in Kentucky?

Intake · part of The Practice Perimeter

⛔ KENTUCKY WRITES THE ONLINE-PRESCRIBING RULE AS THREE NAMED STEPS, AND MISSING ANY OF THEM IS DISHONORABLE CONDUCT. Separately, a treating physician who provides or facilitates telehealth must ensure the patient's INFORMED CONSENT is obtained before services are provided through telehealth, and that confidentiality of the patient's medical information is maintained; the board is directed to promulgate regulations as necessary to prevent abuse and fraud through telehealth services and to PREVENT FEE-SPLITTING through them. Prescribing or dispensing medication IN RESPONSE TO ANY COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED OR RECEIVED BY COMPUTER OR OTHER ELECTRONIC MEANS is dishonorable, unethical or unprofessional conduct where the licensee fails to take three actions to establish and maintain a proper physician-patient relationship: VERIFICATION that the person requesting medication is in fact who the patient claims to be; ESTABLISHMENT OF A DOCUMENTED DIAGNOSIS through the use of accepted medical practices; and MAINTENANCE OF A CURRENT MEDICAL RECORD. The same section reaches prescribing with the intent or knowledge that a medication will be used other than medicinally or for an accepted therapeutic purpose, and prescribing in amounts the licensee knows or has reason to know are excessive under accepted and prevailing medical practice standards.

Drawn from 7 verified rules in this section · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice

The rest of what Kentucky says on this

Every other rule we have verified under good-faith examination, each linked to its primary source.

  • A treating physician who provides or facilitates the use of telehealth shall ensure that the informed consent of the patient, or another appropriate person with authority to make the health care treatment decision for the patient, is obtained before services are provided through telehealth; and that the confidentiality of the patient's medical information is maintained as required by this chapter and other applicable law.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.5975(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • Dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct includes prescribing or dispensing any medication in response to any communication transmitted or received by computer or other electronic means, when the licensee fails to take the following actions to establish and maintain a proper physician-patient relationship: verification that the person requesting medication is in fact who the patient claims to be; establishment of a documented diagnosis through the use of accepted medical practices; and maintenance of a current medical record.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.597(1)(e) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • Dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct includes prescribing or dispensing any medication with the intent or knowledge that a medication will be used or is likely to be used other than medicinally or for an accepted therapeutic purpose.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.597(1)(a) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • Dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct includes prescribing or dispensing any medication in such amounts that the licensee knows or has reason to know, under the attendant circumstances, that said amounts so prescribed or dispensed are excessive under accepted and prevailing medical practice standards.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.597(1)(d) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • The board may deny, probate, suspend or revoke a license where the licensee has been unable or is unable to practice medicine according to acceptable and prevailing standards of care by reason of mental or physical illness or other condition including but not limited to physical deterioration that adversely affects cognitive, motor, or perceptive skills, or by reason of an extended absence from the active practice of medicine.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.595(8) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • The board shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to implement this section and as necessary to prevent abuse and fraud through the use of telehealth services; prevent fee-splitting through the use of telehealth services; and utilize telehealth in the provision of medical services and in the provision of continuing medical education.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. §311.5975(2) · verified Sep 3, 2026

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← All Kentucky rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference, not legal, medical, or compliance advice. Verify against the linked primary source and consult qualified counsel before acting — rules change and turn on your specific facts. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).