The short answer for Washington. Physician or authorised licensee.
A good faith exam is a clinical evaluation by a licensed provider, before treatment, establishing that the treatment is appropriate for that patient. What differs between states is who is allowed to perform it, whether it may happen remotely, and what has to be documented. This page sets out what we have verified for Washington against primary sources, and says so plainly where a question is unsettled.
Who may perform the good faith exam in Washington
Physician or authorised licensee.
Medical director. A physician who is fully and appropriately trained in the procedure — before performing it OR delegating it.
Delegation and supervision. Delegable to a properly trained PA, RN or LPN. The written office protocol must name the delegating physician and set out patient selection criteria and care and follow-up for common complications, serious injury and emergencies.
The gate that catches operators in Washington
A medical assistant-certified may establish an IV line WITHOUT administering medication, and may give IV injections only under direct visual supervision (RCW 18.360).
“Trained before delegating” is the unusual part: a physician cannot delegate a procedure they are not themselves trained to perform.
What makes the exam defensible
Nobody is ever asked to produce a good faith exam on a good day. The request arrives after a complication, a board complaint, an insurance audit or a buyer’s diligence. Five things decide whether what you hand over helps you:
- A qualified practitioner, permitted in that state, actually performed it.
- A real evaluation happened — history, indications, contraindications, and a decision.
- The treatment plan and the order are specific: drug or device, site, dose or settings.
- Informed consent was taken and recorded before treatment, not after.
- The record still exists, unaltered and retrievable, two years later when somebody asks.
Only the first of those is state-specific. The other four fail in exactly the same way in Washington as everywhere else, and they are where most exam processes actually break — not on the licence question, but on documentation nobody kept.
How Washington sits on structure
Corporate practice of medicine. Restricted, with a training-before-delegation rule that governs in practice.
The exam and the structure are separate questions and they fail separately. A perfectly documented exam performed inside an entity that may not lawfully deliver the service is still a problem, and a clean entity does not save a rubber-stamped exam. See medical direction in Washington for the structure side.
What MDside provides in Washington
- Washington-licensed physicians performing the exam themselves — not a queue of signatures.
- A written evaluation, treatment plan and order per patient, in a record you keep and can export.
- Protocols and delegation written to Washington, matched to the services actually on your menu.
- A named Washington medical director doing the work, where your structure needs one.
- 503A and 503B pharmacy relationships and in-house lab draws where the treatment calls for them.
Book a call and we will read your current exam process against the five tests above, in Washington and any other state you operate in. The review is free and you are not obliged to use us for the fix.
Read the detail on Washington
Frequently asked questions
Who can perform a good faith exam in Washington?
Physician or authorised licensee.
Can the exam be done by telehealth in Washington?
That depends on the state rule above and on the treatment. Where we have verified a restriction it is stated on this page; where the position is unsettled we say so rather than guess, and we confirm it with the board before you build a remote funnel.
Does Washington require a physician medical director?
A physician who is fully and appropriately trained in the procedure — before performing it OR delegating it.
What happens if the exam is not documented?
The exam effectively did not happen. In a complaint, an audit or a sale, an undocumented evaluation is treated as no evaluation — which is why the record, not the call, is the thing you are actually buying.
Primary sources for Washington: WAC 246-919-606; RCW 18.71; RCW 18.360. Last reviewed 2026-09-03. Corrections are welcome and get made: contact us.
General information about good faith exams and practice structure in Washington, not legal advice. Requirements differ by state and change often. Confirm your obligations with healthcare counsel licensed in Washington.