Can the pre-treatment exam be done by telehealth in Ohio?
Intake · part of The Practice Perimeter
Ohio permits the remote visit and then refuses to lower the bar, including for the technology chosen. “a health care professional may provide telehealth services to a patient located in this state”, and “The standard of care for a telehealth visit is the same as the standard of care for an in-person visit.” Synchronous or asynchronous technology may be used “provided that the standard of care for an in-person visit can be met for the patient and the patient's medical condition through the use of the technology selected.” And the telephone is singled out: calls “may only be used for telehealth services when all of the elements of a bona fide health care visit meeting the standard of care are performed”, and calls “that are routine or simply involve communication of information do not constitute” a telehealth service.
Ohio Admin. Code 4731-37-01(B) (Telehealth — standard of care) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related Ohio rules
And the definition turns on where the professional is, not on the tool. “Telehealth services” means “health care services provided through the use of information and communication technology by a health care professional licensed in Ohio, within the professional's scope of practice, who is located at a site other than the site where the patient is receiving the services” or where a formally consulting professional is located. “Synchronous communication technology” is “audio and/or video technology that permits two-way, interactive, real-time electronic communication between the health care professional and the patient”. Licensure in Ohio and practice within scope are both inside the definition, so neither is waived by working remotely.
Ohio Admin. Code 4731-37-01(A)(1)-(2) (Telehealth — definitions) · verified Sep 8, 2026
For photodynamic therapy, and for phototherapy for psoriasis, the physician must have seen and evaluated the patient to determine whether the proposed application is appropriate before it is delegated.
Ohio Admin. Code 4731-18-04 · verified Aug 17, 2026
How other states answer this
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- 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
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Related Ohio questions
- Is an exam required before a patient can be treated in Ohio?
- Must someone be on site while a patient is treated in Ohio?
- Can a med spa in Ohio offer compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide?
Get Ohio changes as they publish
We scan the Ohio 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 Ohio 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).