South Carolina § 40-47-113 - Establishment of physician-patient relationship as prerequisite to prescribing drugs; unprofessional conduct.

§ 40-47-113. Establishment of physician-patient relationship as prerequisite to prescribing drugs; unprofessional conduct.

(A) It is unprofessional conduct for a licensee initially to prescribe drugs to an individual without first establishing a proper physician-patient relationship. A proper relationship, at a minimum, requires that the licensee make an informed medical judgment based on the circumstances of the situation and on the licensee's training and experience and that the licensee:

(1) personally perform and document an appropriate history and physical examination, make a diagnosis, and formulate a therapeutic plan;

(2) discuss with the patient the diagnosis and the evidence for it, and the risks and benefits of various treatment options; and

(3) ensure the availability of the licensee or coverage for the patient for appropriate follow-up care.

(B) Notwithstanding subsection (A), a licensee may prescribe for a patient whom the licensee has not personally examined under certain circumstances including, but not limited to, writing admission orders for a newly hospitalized patient, prescribing for a patient of another licensee for whom the prescriber is taking call, prescribing for a patient examined by a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, a physician assistant, or other physician extender authorized by law and supervised by the physician, continuing medication on a short-term basis for a new patient before the patient's first appointment, or prescribing for a patient for whom the licensee has established a physician-patient relationship solely via telemedicine so long as the licensee complies with Section 40-47-37 of this act.

(C) Prescribing drugs to individuals the licensee has never personally examined based solely on answers to a set of questions is unprofessional.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 385, SECTION 1; 2016 Act No. 210 (S.1035), SECTION 4, eff June 3, 2016.

Effect of Amendment

2016 Act No. 210, SECTION 4, rewrote (B), authorizing the prescription of medication as part of the practice of telemedicine and establishing limitations.