In Louisiana, a video visit cannot start testosterone. La. R.S. 40:1223.4(B)(6) bars any controlled dangerous substance before “an appropriate in-person patient history or physical examination.” The medical board’s rule, La. Admin. Code tit. 46, pt. XLV, § 7513(C)(3), then allows telemedicine prescribing only if the physician “has had at least one in-person visit with the patient within the past year.” Testosterone is Schedule III.
Once that visit is on file, synchronous video can carry the program for up to twelve months. For the other 50 jurisdictions, see telehealth testosterone by state.
Two layers, one requirement
Section 40:1223.4(B)(6) applies to every “healthcare provider,” not only physicians, and it defers to the licensing board on what counts as an appropriate in-person history or exam. It carves out two routes: R.S. 37:1271.1, and any rule a licensing board adopts.
The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME) used that room in § 7513. It permits telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances when four conditions all hold:
- The physician has had at least one in-person visit with the patient within the past year.
- The prescription serves a legitimate medical purpose.
- It meets the same standard of care as an in-person visit.
- It complies with all state and federal law.
The rule ties the in-person visit to “the physician,” the one prescribing. It says nothing about a colleague or a group, so plan on the prescriber seeing the patient personally. And “within the past year” is a rolling window. Each video prescription needs an in-person visit inside the prior twelve months.
As of September 2026, the LSBME’s rulemaking page lists no pending amendment to § 7513, which was last amended in February 2017.
The facility exception covers a patient in a licensed facility, not at home
R.S. 37:1271.1, repeated in § 7513(C)(3)(a), lets a physician with an unrestricted Louisiana license prescribe a controlled dangerous substance by telemedicine without the in-person exam when the patient is “being treated at a healthcare facility that is required to be licensed” under Louisiana law and that “holds a current registration with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.”
A patient at home meets neither. Do not assume an outpatient office or a med spa is a facility the state requires to be licensed. Confirm the site’s license category and its own DEA registration with counsel before you build a remote-prescriber model on this exception.
The board can grant an individual exception
Section 7513(C)(4) lets the board grant an exception “in an individual case” on a physician’s written application explaining how and why the physician proposes to deviate from the rule. Any exception is in writing and sets its own limits. It will not support a statewide program.
Act 345 of 2026 does not reach testosterone
Act 345 of 2026 (SB 30), effective May 22, 2026, added R.S. 40:1223.4(D). It stops boards from restricting synchronous telehealth for obesity and related metabolic conditions, including FDA-approved or compounded noncontrolled medication. Testosterone is a controlled dangerous substance, so the in-person rule still governs it.
Louisiana also limits why testosterone may be prescribed. R.S. 40:964 lists anabolic steroids in Schedule III, allows them for human use only for a valid medical purpose, and declares that bodybuilding or muscle enhancement in a healthy person is not one. Keep physique language out of the funnel.
The license the DEA flexibility does not replace
R.S. 40:973 requires a controlled dangerous substance license from the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy before anyone prescribes a CDS in the state. Issuing or renewing it registers the practitioner in the prescription monitoring program. The DEA flexibilities in 21 C.F.R. § 1307.41 run through December 31, 2026, as of September 2026, and they waive only the federal in-person requirement. They do not waive § 40:1223.4, § 7513 or the state license.
Nurse practitioners fall under the statute too, since it covers every healthcare provider.
The in-person path that works in Louisiana
For an operator with a physical site in the state:
- Credential the prescriber first. Louisiana license, Louisiana CDS license and a DEA registration for Louisiana.
- Hold the first visit in person, with that prescriber. History, physical exam, labs and diagnosis, documented in the chart.
- Write the first prescription at or after that visit.
- Move follow-ups to live video. The patient can join from home.
- Book the next in-person visit before month twelve. Use a hard stop in scheduling: no video prescription if the last in-person visit is older than a year.
- Reassign carefully. If a new physician takes over the patient, that physician needs an in-person visit before prescribing by video.
If the DEA flexibilities lapse, 21 U.S.C. § 829(e) requires at least one in-person evaluation by the prescribing practitioner, with the patient in the physical presence of that practitioner. A program built on step 2 already meets it. The DEA deadline post covers the federal side.
If your Louisiana site also runs aesthetics, its presence and exam rules are separate. See Louisiana wants the prescriber on the premises and medical director requirements in Louisiana.
How MDside handles Louisiana
MDside is LegitScript certified. Its testosterone visits are synchronous, live video with the prescriber, and offered only in states whose rules allow it. Louisiana requires an in-person visit first, so MDside does not start Louisiana patients by video. See hormone therapy for how the program runs.
What this means for you
Do not send Louisiana testosterone leads to a home-video intake. Anchor the program to a Louisiana site where the prescriber sees each new patient in person, then run follow-ups by live video. Put the twelve-month renewal in the booking system as a block, and confirm every prescriber’s Louisiana CDS license before launch. For the aesthetics exam rules in the same state, see good faith exams in Louisiana.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Can you get testosterone through telehealth in Louisiana?
Yes, after an in-person visit. La. R.S. 40:1223.4(B)(6) bars any controlled substance before an in-person history or physical exam, and LSBME rule § 7513(C)(3) requires at least one in-person visit with the physician within the past year. After that visit, follow-ups and prescriptions can run by synchronous video.
How often does a Louisiana testosterone patient need an in-person visit?
At least once every twelve months. Section 7513(C)(3) allows telemedicine prescribing of a controlled substance only if the physician has had an in-person visit with the patient within the past year. Schedule the renewal visit before the anniversary so video prescribing never lapses.
Did Louisiana’s 2026 telehealth weight-loss law change testosterone rules?
No. Act 345 of 2026 added R.S. 40:1223.4(D), which protects synchronous telehealth for obesity and related metabolic conditions, including noncontrolled medication. Testosterone is a Schedule III controlled dangerous substance, so the in-person rule in § 40:1223.4(B)(6) and LSBME § 7513 still applies.
Does a patient at a clinic avoid Louisiana’s in-person rule?
Only in a narrow case. R.S. 37:1271.1 waives the in-person exam when the patient is treated at a healthcare facility that state law requires to be licensed and that holds its own current DEA registration. A patient at home does not qualify. Confirm the site’s status with counsel first.
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This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and change. Confirm your own facts with counsel.