{"data":{"id":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-40-47-113","jurisdiction":"us-sc","citation":"S.C. Code Ann. § 40-47-113","heading":"Establishment of physician-patient relationship as prerequisite to prescribing drugs; unprofessional conduct.","body":"(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:\n(1) personally perform and document an appropriate history and physical examination, make a diagnosis, and formulate a therapeutic plan;\n(2) discuss with the patient the diagnosis and the evidence for it, and the risks and benefits of various treatment options; and\n(3) ensure the availability of the licensee or coverage for the patient for appropriate follow-up care.\n(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.\n(C) Prescribing drugs to individuals the licensee has never personally examined based solely on answers to a set of questions is unprofessional.","path":["Title 40 - PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS","CHAPTER 47 Physicians and Miscellaneous Health Care Professionals","ARTICLE 1 General Provisions"],"source_url":"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t40c047.php","current_through":"2025 Session of the General Assembly","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-02T07:22:54Z","sha256":"fafb3533ad1e71bf4b7c3ca37172428d17b40f6605d6bc60906cc15f995be43f","source_id":"us-sc","stale":false,"prev":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-40-47-112","next":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-40-47-114"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}