Telehealth providers in Georgia

Verified telehealth providers serving Georgia

Telehealth prescribing rules in Georgia

Georgia Composite Medical Board rule 360-3-.07 (Practice through electronic or other such means) authorizes telemedicine by a Georgia-licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse when the provider has personally seen and examined the patient and provides ongoing care electronically, is covering for or acting at the request of a Georgia-licensed clinician who examined the patient, or can examine the patient using technology or peripherals equal or superior to an in-person exam. Board rule 360-3-.02(6) separately makes it unprofessional conduct to provide treatment by electronic means unless a history and physical examination of the patient has been performed by a Georgia licensee, with exceptions for on-call coverage and consultations. In its January 10, 2024 statement the Board said an in-person visit is not required for every prescription, but that its rules in general require a patient to be examined once in person before an initial prescription for controlled substances and/or dangerous drugs, and that telemedicine providers must make diligent efforts to have patients examined in person annually. Under O.C.G.A. 16-13-71 a dangerous drug is any non-scheduled drug that federal law allows to be dispensed only by prescription, which includes GLP-1 drugs. In December 2023 the Board announced it would end its COVID-era tele-prescribing flexibility, and after an extension through May 1, 2024 licensees must follow the Medical Practice Act and Board rules strictly. A questionnaire-only first prescription does not meet this standard. Out-of-state providers need a Georgia license. On scope: neither rule 360-3-.07 (unchanged since September 28, 2020 in the Administrative Code current through September 2, 2026) nor rule 360-3-.02 draws a line between controlled and non-controlled dangerous drugs, so the same exam requirement applies to a first GLP-1 prescription; the only alternative to a prior in-person exam or a referral from an examining Georgia clinician is an exam using technology or peripherals equal or superior to an in-person exam under rule 360-3-.07(a)(3)(d). [2] [3] [4] [7] [8] [9]

Compounded GLP-1 access in Georgia

The practical Georgia barrier is the prescription itself: many national asynchronous GLP-1 programs must add a video exam or require a prior in-person exam for Georgia patients to satisfy rule 360-3-.07. [3] [4] [13]

Research use only sellers in Georgia

Only Georgia-licensed pharmacies and permitted nonresident pharmacies may dispense prescription drugs to Georgia patients. "Research use only" peptides sold for human injection are unapproved new drugs under federal law regardless of labeling and are not dispensed by a pharmacist. Georgia law also bars the sale directly: O.C.G.A. 26-3-10 provides that no person shall sell, deliver, offer for sale, hold for sale, or give away any new drug unless an application for it has become effective under section 505 of the federal act (or, for a drug not subject to the federal act, a state application has been filed with the State Board of Pharmacy), with an exemption only for drugs intended solely for investigational use by qualified experts and plainly labeled "For investigational use only." [5] [11] [14]