A good faith exam is the evaluation a licensed provider performs before a patient's first med spa treatment: a history, a focused physical examination, and a judgment that the treatment is appropriate, which produces the order the treating staff work from. North Carolina's boards require the examination without using the term.
Who performs it, and when North Carolina expects it again
A physician, physician assistant or advanced practice nurse performs the exam, according to the American Med Spa Association; a registered nurse may assist but cannot generate the treatment order from it. North Carolina's Medical Board reaches the same place by a different route, through its position statement on laser surgery.
That statement, amended May 2021, says good medical practice requires each patient be examined by a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner "prior to receiving the first laser hair and tattoo removal treatment and at other times as medically indicated." The examination should include a history and a focused physical examination.
The repeat question has no calendar answer here. At other times as medically indicated is a clinical judgment, and the board sets no interval. The statement covers lasers and prescription light devices, not injectables, fillers or chemical peels.
Where the exam sits in an automated booking system
Automated booking systems are where the exam becomes an operational problem rather than a clinical one: a new patient who books a laser appointment online needs the examination first, so the booking flow has to route a first visit to a provider who can perform it and hold the treatment slot until the order exists.
Mirastart builds that layer: live availability booking that tells a first visit from a repeat, confirmations and reminders, and follow-up automation that chases the consult a patient forgot. Those systems run in production for Charlotte businesses today. What the exam requires clinically is your medical director's call.
Sources
- NC Medical Board Position Statement 5.1.2: Laser Surgery - Adopted July 1999, amended May 2021. Source of the quoted sentence: good medical practice requires each patient be examined by a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner prior to a first laser hair and tattoo removal treatment and at other times as medically indicated, with a history and a focused physical examination. The statement covers lasers and prescription light devices; it does not address injectables, fillers or chemical peels, and it is a position statement rather than a statute or rule.
- American Med Spa Association, "What Is Required of a Medical Spa's Good Faith Exams?" - AmSpa's position that the good faith exam must be performed by a physician, physician assistant or advanced practice nurse, and that a registered nurse may aid in administering it but cannot generate orders for treatment from it. A trade association's guidance, not a North Carolina board document.