The short answer for South Dakota. An evaluation and order by a practitioner permitted to make it. ⚠️ SDCL 36-4-8.2: use of a LASER or ionizing radiation to cut “or otherwise alter” human tissue IS SURGERY constituting the practice of medicine.
A good faith exam is a clinical evaluation by a licensed provider, before treatment, establishing that the treatment is appropriate for that patient. What differs between states is who is allowed to perform it, whether it may happen remotely, and what has to be documented. This page sets out what we have verified for South Dakota against primary sources, and says so plainly where a question is unsettled.
Who may perform the good faith exam in South Dakota
An evaluation and order by a practitioner permitted to make it. ⚠️ SDCL 36-4-8.2: use of a LASER or ionizing radiation to cut “or otherwise alter” human tissue IS SURGERY constituting the practice of medicine.
Medical director. A South Dakota-licensed MD or DO. Under SDCL 47-11-3 all officers, directors and shareholders of a medical corporation must be licensed AT ALL TIMES, and no proxy to vote shares may be given to an unlicensed person.
Delegation and supervision. Delegation only to a practitioner whose licence and training support performing a surgical act, under written protocols naming device, settings, indications and contraindications.
The gate that catches operators in South Dakota
A physician employment agreement may not run more than THREE YEARS, renewable annually — and the corporation may take no profit from the practice of medicine itself, though facility, equipment and administrative charges are expressly allowed.
The laser definition decides most of a South Dakota med spa menu. Check it before the purchase order, not after the staff are trained.
What makes the exam defensible
Nobody is ever asked to produce a good faith exam on a good day. The request arrives after a complication, a board complaint, an insurance audit or a buyer’s diligence. Five things decide whether what you hand over helps you:
- A qualified practitioner, permitted in that state, actually performed it.
- A real evaluation happened — history, indications, contraindications, and a decision.
- The treatment plan and the order are specific: drug or device, site, dose or settings.
- Informed consent was taken and recorded before treatment, not after.
- The record still exists, unaltered and retrievable, two years later when somebody asks.
Only the first of those is state-specific. The other four fail in exactly the same way in South Dakota as everywhere else, and they are where most exam processes actually break — not on the licence question, but on documentation nobody kept.
How South Dakota sits on structure
Corporate practice of medicine. Yes — SDCL 36-4-8.1 declares it the public policy of the state, with an employment exception on three conditions.
The exam and the structure are separate questions and they fail separately. A perfectly documented exam performed inside an entity that may not lawfully deliver the service is still a problem, and a clean entity does not save a rubber-stamped exam. See medical direction in South Dakota for the structure side.
What MDside provides in South Dakota
- South Dakota-licensed physicians performing the exam themselves — not a queue of signatures.
- A written evaluation, treatment plan and order per patient, in a record you keep and can export.
- Protocols and delegation written to South Dakota, matched to the services actually on your menu.
- A named South Dakota medical director doing the work, where your structure needs one.
- 503A and 503B pharmacy relationships and in-house lab draws where the treatment calls for them.
Book a call and we will read your current exam process against the five tests above, in South Dakota and any other state you operate in. The review is free and you are not obliged to use us for the fix.
Read the detail on South Dakota
Frequently asked questions
Who can perform a good faith exam in South Dakota?
An evaluation and order by a practitioner permitted to make it. ⚠️ SDCL 36-4-8.2: use of a LASER or ionizing radiation to cut “or otherwise alter” human tissue IS SURGERY constituting the practice of medicine.
Can the exam be done by telehealth in South Dakota?
That depends on the state rule above and on the treatment. Where we have verified a restriction it is stated on this page; where the position is unsettled we say so rather than guess, and we confirm it with the board before you build a remote funnel.
Does South Dakota require a physician medical director?
A South Dakota-licensed MD or DO. Under SDCL 47-11-3 all officers, directors and shareholders of a medical corporation must be licensed AT ALL TIMES, and no proxy to vote shares may be given to an unlicensed person.
What happens if the exam is not documented?
The exam effectively did not happen. In a complaint, an audit or a sale, an undocumented evaluation is treated as no evaluation — which is why the record, not the call, is the thing you are actually buying.
Primary sources for South Dakota: SDCL 36-4-8.1; SDCL 36-4-8.2; SDCL 47-11-1; SDCL 47-11-2; SDCL 47-11-3. Last reviewed 2026-09-03. Corrections are welcome and get made: contact us.
General information about good faith exams and practice structure in South Dakota, not legal advice. Requirements differ by state and change often. Confirm your obligations with healthcare counsel licensed in South Dakota.