MedSpaRadar™
Free alerts

Can the pre-treatment exam be done by telehealth in Washington?

Intake · part of The Practice Perimeter

Short answer
The cited rules do not settle this — they only require a non-physician clinician who provides clinical services by telemedicine to complete telemedicine training and keep a signed attestation; physicians are exempt. No cited rule sets the exam's modality.

Washington puts a training requirement on everyone doing telemedicine except the physician, which is the opposite of what most operators assume. Beginning January 1, 2021, “a health care professional who provides clinical services through telemedicine, other than a physician licensed under chapter 18.71 RCW or an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 18.57 RCW, shall complete a telemedicine training.” The training “Must include information on current state and federal law, liability, informed consent” and other criteria set by the telemedicine collaborative, and “If a health care professional completes the training, the health care professional shall sign and retain an attestation.” In a med spa that reaches the nurse, the advanced practice nurse and the physician assistant, and leaves the supervising physician out.

Wash. Rev. Code § 43.70.495(1)-(2) (Telemedicine training for health care professionals) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice

Related Washington rules

  • And an out-of-state clinician may join by telemedicine only as a consultant, with a Washington licensee still carrying the patient. Exempt from the licensure requirement is “The consultation through telemedicine or other means by a practitioner, licensed by another state or territory in which he or she resides, with a practitioner licensed in this state who has responsibility for the diagnosis and treatment of the patient within this state.” The exemption is written around a Washington-licensed practitioner who retains responsibility; it is not a route for treating a Washington patient remotely from elsewhere.

    Wash. Rev. Code § 18.71.030(6) (Exemptions — consultation through telemedicine) · verified Sep 8, 2026

  • Before authorizing a nonsurgical medical cosmetic procedure a physician must take a history, perform an appropriate physical examination, make an appropriate diagnosis, recommend appropriate treatment, obtain the patient’s informed consent, provide instructions for emergency and follow-up care, and prepare an appropriate medical record. All seven, before the procedure is authorized.

    Wash. Admin. Code 246-919-606(5) · verified Sep 2, 2026

All 6 cited Washington rules on good-faith examination →

How other states answer this

All 51 states side by side →

Related Washington questions

Every Washington question we can answer →

Get Washington changes as they publish

We scan the Washington 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 Washington 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).