Under A.R.S. § 36-3606, a provider with an unrestricted out-of-state license and no past or pending discipline may treat Arizona patients by telehealth after registering with the comparable Arizona board, naming a statutory agent, showing malpractice coverage and paying a fee. Registrants report patients and encounters annually and may not see Arizona patients in person.
Arizona's out-of-state pathway is one of the broadest in the country. Any health care provider in a profession Arizona licenses can register with the Arizona board for that profession and then treat patients located in Arizona by telehealth, with no cap on patients or time. The statute, A.R.S. § 36-3606, puts the work in the application and an annual report rather than in limits on practice. For a multi-state telehealth company, it is usually the fastest way into Arizona short of a compact license.
Who can register?
A provider who "holds a current, valid and unrestricted license to practice in another state that is substantially similar to a license issued in this state to a comparable health care provider and is not subject to any past or pending disciplinary proceedings in any jurisdiction" (§ 36-3606(A)(4)). "Past" matters: unlike Florida, which looks back five years, Arizona's text reaches any disciplinary proceeding. The registrant must tell the Arizona board within five days after any restriction is placed on a license or any disciplinary action is started or imposed.
The statute's definition of health care provider covers the professions licensed under the Arizona chapters listed in § 36-3601, which include the medical, osteopathic, nursing and physician assistant boards. The registration is filed with "this state's applicable health care provider regulatory board or agency that licenses comparable health care providers": the Arizona Medical Board for MDs, the osteopathic board for DOs, the Board of Nursing for NPs, and the PA regulator for PAs.
What goes in the application?
Section 36-3606(A)(1) lists the contents:
- The provider's name.
- Proof of licensure in every U.S. jurisdiction where the provider is licensed, with license numbers. Arizona verifies through the other states' board websites.
- Address, email and phone, including how to reach the provider urgently.
- Evidence of professional liability insurance, including coverage for telehealth services provided in Arizona (§ 36-3606(A)(6)).
- A duly appointed statutory agent for service of process in Arizona.
The provider also pays a registration fee set by the board, consents to Arizona jurisdiction for disciplinary action and legal proceedings, and agrees to follow Arizona's standards of care for the profession (§ 36-3606(A)(3), (7), (8)). Fees differ by board; check the current schedule before filing.
What does a registrant have to do each year?
Under § 36-3606(A)(9), the registrant must annually update the registration and submit a report with "the number of patients the provider served in this state and the total number and type of encounters in this state for the preceding year." That number has to come from somewhere. Set up a report in the EHR, by clinician and patient state, before the first Arizona visit, not the week the update is due.
What can a registrant not do?
Two things (§ 36-3606(B)):
- Open an office in Arizona, unless it is part of a multistate provider group that includes at least one provider licensed in Arizona through the applicable board. A group with one Arizona licensee can have an Arizona location staffed partly by registrants.
- Provide in-person care to people in Arizona without first getting an Arizona license.
Registrants must also follow all Arizona law on scope of practice, prescribing, dispensing and administering drugs, telehealth, and the best-practice guidelines of Arizona's telehealth advisory committee (§ 36-3606(A)(5)).
When is no registration needed?
Section 36-3606(E) exempts a provider with an active license elsewhere who treats a person in Arizona by telehealth in any of these situations:
- An emergency medical condition.
- Consultation with an Arizona-licensed provider who has ultimate authority over the patient's diagnosis and treatment.
- After-care specifically related to a procedure performed in person in another state.
- A resident of another state, where the telehealth provider is that person's primary care or behavioral health provider in the person's home state. This covers a patient traveling in or wintering in Arizona.
- Fewer than ten telehealth encounters in a calendar year.
The ten-encounter exemption counts encounters, not patients. A single Arizona patient seen monthly passes ten by October.
What about prescribing?
Before prescribing a controlled substance to a patient in Arizona, a registrant must register with the Arizona Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program (§ 36-3606(A)(2)). A DEA registration for Arizona is also needed; our sisters handle DEA filings for NPs, PAs and physicians.
Arizona's telehealth statute also governs the exam. Under § 36-3602(E), boards may not require an in-person exam before a prescription, except for Schedule II drugs, which "may be prescribed only after an in-person or audio-visual examination." An audio-only visit cannot support a Schedule II prescription in Arizona. Audio-only counts as telehealth at all only when an audio-visual encounter is not reasonably available because of the patient's functional status or lack of technology or infrastructure, as determined by the provider (§ 36-3601(4)(b)).
What else does Arizona require of every telehealth visit?
Verbal or written informed consent, including electronically, from the patient or their health care decision maker before care is delivered by telehealth, with verbal consent documented in the record (§ 36-3602(A)). Emergencies and consultant reads of diagnostic images are exempt. See telehealth consent requirements by state.
How should a practice add Arizona?
- Decide per clinician: compact license, full license or registration. The registration is usually fastest.
- Appoint an Arizona statutory agent and confirm malpractice coverage names Arizona telehealth.
- Register prescribers with the Arizona CSPMP before any controlled substance prescription.
- Build the annual patient and encounter report.
- Flag Schedule II patients so audio-only visits cannot produce a prescription.
Our Telehealth Registration Filing service ($395 per clinician, per state, plus board fees) prepares Arizona registrations for physicians, NPs and PAs. The Arizona page in the telehealth law index has the related citations, and states with a telehealth registration compares Arizona with the other registration states. This is research for your counsel, not legal advice.
Common questions
- Do I need an Arizona license to see Arizona patients by telehealth?
- Not if you register under A.R.S. § 36-3606 with the Arizona board that licenses your profession, or fit an exemption such as fewer than ten Arizona telehealth encounters a year, emergencies, consultation with an Arizona licensee, or after-care for an out-of-state procedure.
- Can an Arizona telehealth registrant prescribe controlled substances?
- Yes, after registering with Arizona's Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program and holding a DEA registration for Arizona. Schedule II drugs need an in-person or audio-visual exam first under A.R.S. § 36-3602(E).
- Can a registrant work from an Arizona office?
- Only as part of a multistate provider group that includes at least one provider licensed in Arizona by the applicable board. Registrants may not provide in-person care to people in Arizona without an Arizona license.
- What does the annual Arizona registration update require?
- An update of the registration for accuracy and a report to the board of the number of patients served in Arizona and the total number and type of encounters in the preceding year, under A.R.S. § 36-3606(A)(9).
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