What is a Good Faith Exam, and what happens during it?
A Good Faith Exam is the industry's name for the examination a licensed practitioner performs before a patient's aesthetic treatment. The practitioner reviews medical history and medications, screens for reasons not to treat, and writes the order the nurse works from. The Arizona State Board of Nursing expects this initial face-to-face examination before any Level II or Level III procedure, which includes Botox and filler. It may be done by telemedicine.
Where the name comes from
“Good Faith Exam” is the aesthetic industry’s name for the practitioner’s evaluation before treatment. The Arizona State Board of Nursing’s advisory opinion on medical aesthetic procedures does not use that phrase. It says that before any Level II or Level III medical aesthetic treatment, an initial face-to-face examination of the patient should be performed by a qualified licensed practitioner (source, verified ). In Arizona, neuromodulators and dermal fillers are classified as Level III, advanced procedures (source, verified ), so the examination applies to Botox and filler. The practitioner is not just any licensed person: the supervising practitioner has medical or surgical training and specific knowledge, skills and abilities in medical aesthetic procedures (source, verified ).
What the practitioner reviews
Your medical history, current medications and supplements, allergies, previous aesthetic treatments and how you responded, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and any condition that could make treatment unwise for you. The opinion does not script the exam, but it does say what the nurse’s own training must cover: training for nurses who perform these procedures must cover proper client selection, history taking, physical assessment parameters, and the indications and contraindications for treatment (source, verified ). The practitioner’s examination is the step where those indications and contraindications are weighed for you specifically.
How it is done
In person, or by a live video visit with the practitioner. The opinion says telemedicine may be used for the initial exam (source, verified ). A form you fill in on your own is not an examination by a practitioner. If a practice tells you there is no exam because “the nurse is experienced”, that is not what the Board expects.
What comes out of it
An order. an order from a licensed practitioner is required to initiate a Level II or Level III procedure (source, verified ). This is what the site calls a patient-specific order: the practitioner’s instruction for your treatment, which the nurse carries out. The Board’s separate opinion on standing orders draws the line on what a protocol can and cannot do: a standing order or protocol cannot authorize a nurse to choose an intervention from a menu of medications or actions, to alter the order once it is started, or to prescribe, renew or extend a prescription (source, verified ). Where a practice does use a protocol, when a nurse acts on a decision support tool, the practitioner must afterward authenticate the orders that were acted upon (source, verified ). Separately, written informed consent is required for Level III procedures (source, verified ).
How often
the opinion specifies an initial examination before treatment and does not set a schedule for repeating it (source, verified ). Practices set their own policy on re-evaluation, and a careful one asks for a new evaluation when your health or medications change in a way that could affect treatment. Ask your practice how it handles this.
Why it matters
The exam is where most avoidable complications are avoided. It also makes the relationship honest: you know who is medically responsible for your care, and the nurse treating you is working from an order written for you. The practitioner stays in reach afterward as well: the practitioner must be able to assess a patient, when the nurse or the patient asks, within a medically reasonable timeframe (source, verified ). This page is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Advisory Opinion: Medical Aesthetic Procedures Performed by Licensed Nurses, Licensed Cosmetologist, Licensed Aestheticians and Certified Laser Technologists (approved 7/26/11, revised through 11/25) , Arizona State Board of Nursing Regulator Accessed
- Advisory Opinion: Standing Orders, Protocols, Pre-Printed Orders, & Order Sets (also known as Decision Support Tools) (approved 9/17, revised through 5/25) , Arizona State Board of Nursing Regulator Accessed
- Advisory Opinions & Position Statements , Arizona State Board of Nursing Regulator Accessed
- Good Faith Exams in Arizona: Rules and Telehealth Exams for Med Spas , KiteMD Accessed
Questions readers ask
Do I need a separate appointment for the exam?
Often not. Many practices arrange the practitioner's evaluation, by live video or in person, as part of the first visit, so treatment can follow the same day when you are cleared. Ask when you book.
Can the nurse do the exam instead of the practitioner?
The Board's opinion calls for the initial examination to be performed by a qualified licensed practitioner. The nurse carries out her own nursing assessment before treating, but that is in addition to the practitioner's exam, not a substitute for it.
What should I bring?
A list of medications and supplements, any relevant diagnoses, and the dates of recent procedures. If you have had aesthetic treatments before, the products and dates help too.
Does the exam cost extra?
That depends on the practice. Ask when you book; at your consultation Tanya will tell you exactly what is included.
What if I am not cleared?
The practitioner explains why, and whether something can change, for example timing around a medication. Not being cleared is the system working.
Revision history (2)
- update First version Editorial team
- update Re-sourced to the Arizona State Board of Nursing advisory opinions on medical aesthetic procedures and on standing orders; removed the annual-repeat claim, which no source supports; the exam, order, consent and standing-order statements are now sourced claims Editorial team