New Jersey telehealth MSO-PC: license, patient notice, and Schedule II rules
New Jersey writes more telehealth rules into statute than most states. Every clinician needs a New Jersey license, patients get a right to ask for a physician, and the clinical entity has to be owned by licensed professionals.
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A New Jersey telehealth company needs a New Jersey license for every treating clinician under N.J.S.A. 45:1-62(b), a clinical entity owned and controlled by New Jersey-licensed professionals under N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16, and an MSO paid a fair-market-value fee for non-clinical work. The statute also sets visit rules: patients must be told the visit may be with a non-physician and can ask for a physician, clinician credentials and contact details must be shared, and a prescription cannot rest on a static online questionnaire alone. Foundry forms the MSO-PC for $15,000 and matches a New Jersey-licensed friendly PC owner for $3,000/mo.
New Jersey is a Strict state on the CPOM 50-state guide. The ownership rule, the fee-splitting overlay, and enforcement detail are on New Jersey CPOM. The day-to-day operating test (funds flow, the MSA fee, who controls clinical decisions) is on CPOM compliance. General information only, not legal advice.
The license and jurisdiction rule
N.J.S.A. 45:1-62(b) sets four conditions for any provider who treats a New Jersey patient by telemedicine or telehealth. The provider must be validly licensed, certified, or registered under Title 45 to provide the service in New Jersey. The provider stays subject to the New Jersey board, keeps the liability insurance New Jersey requires, and stays subject to New Jersey jurisdiction. A physician licensed only in New York who sees a patient at home in Newark is practicing in New Jersey.
Telemedicine can run on real-time two-way audio or video. Store-and-forward also works if the clinician reviews the records first, decides the in-person standard of care can be met, and tells the patient so at the start. Under subsection (d), the standard of care is the same as in person, and the clinician must send the patient to in-person care when telehealth would fall short.
Visit rules New Jersey writes into statute
Several product decisions in a New Jersey telehealth app come straight from N.J.S.A. 45:1-62(c). Build them into intake and the patient portal before launch.
| Requirement | Statute | What the product needs |
|---|---|---|
| Tell the patient the visit may be with a non-physician, and schedule a physician on request | 45:1-62(c)(3)(a) | A booking screen notice and a "see a physician" option |
| Share the clinician's identity, credentials, and contact details | 45:1-62(c)(3)(b) | Clinician profile at booking or confirmation, and a contact route for at least 72 hours after the visit |
| Review medical history and records before the first contact | 45:1-62(c)(4) | Intake and record review before the first visit starts |
| Enter the visit in the medical record and forward it to the primary care provider on request | 45:1-62(c)(5) | Record export and a primary care referral path |
| No prescription based only on a static online questionnaire | 45:1-62(d)(2) | A real provider-patient relationship before any prescription |
Who owns the New Jersey practice
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16 is the Board of Medical Examiners rule on practice structure. It requires the medical practice to be owned and controlled by licensed professionals, limits the entity forms (professional associations, partnerships, and professional LLCs of licensed professionals, among others), and bars general business corporations from employing physicians to provide care outside narrow exceptions such as licensed hospitals and HMOs. An inactive license does not qualify the owner.
| Role | Where it sits | New Jersey note |
|---|---|---|
| Physician owner | Owns the professional entity | Active New Jersey license required |
| Treating clinicians | Employed or contracted by the PC | Each licensed in New Jersey under 45:1-62(b) |
| Founder and investors | Own the MSO | Software, brand, marketing, and non-clinical staff |
| MSO fee | Written management services agreement | Fixed or cost-plus at fair market value |
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.17 adds the money rules. It bars fees, commissions, or rebates tied to referrals or prescribing, and it limits investment returns to a return on capital. A management fee that rises with prescriptions or referrals reads as the pattern the rule targets. Keep the fee tied to defined services and document the fair-market-value basis.
Controlled substances after the 2026 amendment
P.L. 2026, c. 40, signed July 7, 2026, rewrote the Schedule II piece of N.J.S.A. 45:1-62(e). The Drug Control Unit notice of August 3, 2026 from the Division of Consumer Affairs summarizes the current rules:
- Schedule II drugs need an initial in-person exam and an in-person visit every three months while the prescription continues, unless an exception applies.
- Adult Schedule II stimulants can start by telemedicine if an in-person exam takes place within 30 days, with contact every three months and an in-person visit at least once a year.
- Minors can receive Schedule II stimulants with written parent or guardian consent to waive the in-person exam.
- The in-person rule does not apply to patients in active cancer treatment, hospice, palliative care, or long-term care, to medical aid in dying, or to substance use disorder medications.
- Prescribing under an exception requires real-time two-way audio and video.
Federal rules sit on top. The DEA telemedicine flexibilities under 21 CFR 1307.41 run through December 31, 2026, and each prescriber needs a DEA registration for the state where the patient sits. Psychiatry and ADHD platforms should map the 30-day in-person step before launch.
Setup steps for a New Jersey telehealth company
- List each visit type and mark which ones prescribe, and which involve Schedule II drugs.
- Match a New Jersey-licensed physician to own the PC through friendly PC owner matching ($3,000/mo).
- Form the professional entity and the MSO, and sign a fair-market-value MSA. See MSO-PC formation ($15,000).
- License every treating clinician in New Jersey.
- Build the non-physician notice, physician-on-request option, credential display, and 72-hour contact route into the app.
- Route all clinical payments to the PC's bank account, and enroll the PC with payers under its own tax ID.
Pricing
MSO-PC formation
$15,000One-time. The MSO and the New Jersey physician-owned PC, scoped to your visit model.
Friendly PC owner
$3,000/moA New Jersey-licensed physician who owns your PC.
New Jersey telehealth MSO-PC FAQ
Do I need a New Jersey license to treat New Jersey patients by telehealth?
Yes. N.J.S.A. 45:1-62(b) requires any provider who uses telemedicine with a New Jersey patient to be validly licensed, certified, or registered in New Jersey, to stay subject to the New Jersey licensing board, to carry the liability insurance New Jersey requires, and to remain subject to New Jersey jurisdiction.
Can a New Jersey telehealth visit start with an online questionnaire?
A questionnaire can collect history, but it cannot be the only basis for a prescription. N.J.S.A. 45:1-62(d)(2) bars a prescription based solely on answers to an online static questionnaire unless a proper provider-patient relationship exists. Plan a real-time video or audio visit, or a store-and-forward review that meets the in-person standard of care.
What changed for Schedule II telehealth prescribing in New Jersey in 2026?
P.L. 2026, c. 40, signed July 7, 2026, amended N.J.S.A. 45:1-62. Schedule II drugs still need an initial in-person exam and an in-person visit every three months, unless an exception applies. Adult stimulants can now start by telemedicine if an in-person exam happens within 30 days. Exceptions also cover minors with parent consent, cancer, hospice, palliative and long-term care, medical aid in dying, and substance use disorder treatment.
Can a lay founder own a New Jersey telehealth practice?
Not the clinical entity. N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.16 requires licensed-professional ownership and control of the medical practice and limits the entity forms. The founder owns the MSO and bills the physician-owned PC a fair-market-value fee.
How much does Foundry charge for a New Jersey telehealth MSO-PC?
MSO-PC formation is $15,000 one-time. A New Jersey-licensed friendly PC owner is $3,000/mo. Foundry is not a law firm, and healthcare counsel signs off on the documents.
Related reading
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