New Jersey good-faith exam for med spas

Good-faith examination in New Jersey

Where a modality is administered by someone else, New Jersey stacks three duties on the physician: examine the patient before it is applied, see them again before every subsequent scheduled application, and remain on the premises throughout. A course of treatment does not buy a standing clearance.

• The physician must examine the patient to assess the trauma or disease, determine whether the modality will help, and weigh the risks against the benefits before it is administered by anyone else.

  N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.14(e)1 · verified Aug 17, 2026 · read at Cornell Legal Information Institute

• The doctor must see the patient again before any subsequent scheduled application, to confirm that continued treatment remains appropriate and that no contraindication has become apparent. A course of treatment does not buy a standing clearance.

  N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.14(e)4 · verified Aug 17, 2026 · read at Cornell Legal Information Institute

• The doctor must remain on site — on the premises — at all times that treatment orders are being carried out by the assistant, within reasonable proximity to the treatment room and available in the event of an emergency.

  N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.14(e)5 · verified Aug 17, 2026 · read at Cornell Legal Information Institute

• New Jersey puts the decision before the visit, and makes it the licensee’s. “Prior to providing services through telemedicine or telehealth, a licensee shall determine whether providing those services through telemedicine or telehealth would be consistent with the standard of care applicable for those services when provided in-person.” If it would not — “either before or during the provision of health care services” — “the licensee shall not provide services through telemedicine or telehealth” and “shall advise the patient to obtain services in-person.” There is no lower bar for the remote encounter: a licensee giving a diagnosis, treatment or consultation recommendation this way “shall be held to the same standard of care or practice standards as are applicable to in-person settings.”

  N.J.A.C. 13:35-6B.3 (Telemedicine and telehealth — standard of care) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · read at Cornell Legal Information Institute

• And the relationship has to be built first, with named steps. Before providing services this way a licensee shall establish a licensee-patient relationship by “Identifying the patient with, at a minimum, the patient’s name, date of birth, phone number, and address” and by “Disclosing and validating the licensee’s identity, license, title, and, if applicable, specialty and board certifications.” Before initiating contact the licensee shall “Review the patient’s medical history and any available medical records”, decide “as to each unique patient encounter” whether the same standard of care can be met remotely, and offer a consent form releasing the encounter’s records to the patient’s primary care provider. The carve-outs are for informal or episodic consultations between providers, emergencies without charge, and a substitute licensee; the rule states no carve-out for a first cosmetic consultation.

  N.J.A.C. 13:35-6B.4(a)-(c) (Telemedicine and telehealth — licensee-patient relationship) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · read at Cornell Legal Information Institute