The Medical Practice Act shall not apply to or affect:

A. gratuitous services rendered in cases of emergency;

B. the domestic administration of family remedies;

C. the practice of midwifery as regulated in this state;

D. commissioned medical officers of the armed forces of the United States and medical officers of the commissioned corps of the United States public health service or the United States department of veterans affairs in the discharge of their official duties or within federally controlled facilities; provided that such persons who hold medical licenses in New Mexico shall be subject to the provisions of the Medical Practice Act; and provided further that all such persons shall be fully licensed to practice medicine in one or more jurisdictions of the United States;

E. the practice of medicine by a physician, unlicensed in New Mexico, who performs emergency medical procedures in air or ground transportation on a patient from inside of New Mexico to another state or back; provided that the physician is duly licensed in that state;

F. the practice, as defined and limited under their respective licensing laws, of:

(1) osteopathy;

(2) dentistry;

(3) podiatry;

(4) nursing;

(5) optometry;

(6) psychology;

(7) chiropractic;

(8) pharmacy;

(9) acupuncture and oriental medicine; or

(10) physical therapy;

G. an act, task or function performed by a physician assistant, at the direction of and with the supervision of or in collaboration with, a licensed physician, when:

(1) the physician assistant is currently licensed by the board;

(2) the act, task or function is performed with the supervision of a licensed physician or in collaboration with a licensed physician in accordance with rules promulgated by the board; and

(3) the acts of the physician assistant are within the scope of duties assigned or delegated by the supervising or collaborating licensed physician and the acts are within the scope of the physician assistant's training;

H. an act, task or function of laboratory technicians or technologists, x-ray technicians, nurse practitioners, medical or surgical assistants or other technicians or qualified persons permitted by law or established by custom as part of the duties delegated to them by:

(1) a licensed physician or a hospital, clinic or institution licensed or approved by the public health division of the department of health or an agency of the federal government; or

(2) a health care program operated or financed by an agency of the state or federal government;

I. a properly trained medical or surgical assistant or technician or professional licensee performing under the physician's employment and direct supervision or a visiting physician or surgeon operating under the physician's direct supervision a medical act that a reasonable and prudent physician would find within the scope of sound medical judgment to delegate if, in the opinion of the delegating physician, the act can be properly and safely performed in its customary manner and if the person does not hold the person's own self out to the public as being authorized to practice medicine in New Mexico. The delegating physician shall remain responsible for the medical acts of the person performing the delegated medical acts;

J. the practice of the religious tenets of a church in the ministration to the sick or suffering by mental or spiritual means as provided by law; provided that the Medical Practice Act shall not be construed to exempt a person from the operation or enforcement of the sanitary and quarantine laws of the state;

K. the acts of a physician licensed under the laws of another state of the United States who is the treating physician of a patient and orders home health or hospice services for a resident of New Mexico to be delivered by a home and community support services agency licensed in this state; provided that a change in the condition of the patient shall be physically reevaluated by the treating physician in the treating physician's jurisdiction or by a licensed New Mexico physician;

L. a physician licensed to practice under the laws of another state who acts as a consultant to a New Mexico-licensed physician on an irregular or infrequent basis, as defined by rule of the board; and

M. a physician who engages in the informal practice of medicine across state lines without compensation or expectation of compensation; provided that the practice of medicine across state lines conducted within the parameters of a contractual relationship shall not be considered informal and is subject to licensure and rule by the board.

History: 1953 Comp., § 67-5-10.1, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 361, § 8; 1978 Comp., § 61-6-16, recompiled as § 61-6-17 by Laws 1989, ch. 269, § 13; 1991, ch. 148, § 4; 1991, ch. 164, § 1; 1993, ch. 158, § 7; 1994, ch. 80, § 8; 1997, ch. 221, § 3; 2000, ch. 44, § 1; 2001, ch. 96, § 5; 2003, ch. 19, § 17; 2017, ch. 103, § 5.

Repeals. — Laws 1989, ch. 269, § 32 repealed former 61-6-17 NMSA 1978, as amended by Laws 1982, ch. 110, § 2, relating to fees for license by endorsement application and for examination, effective July 1, 1989.

Cross references. — For the Public Health Act, see 24-1-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, provided that the Medical Practice Act shall not apply to or affect an act, task or function performed by a physician assistant in collaboration with a licensed physician in certain circumstances, and made technical changes; in Subsection D, after "medical officers of the", added "commissioned corps of the", after "public health service or", deleted "the veterans administration of", after the second occurrence of "United States", added "department of veterans affairs"; and in Subsection G, in the introductory clause, after "at the direction of and", deleted "under" and added "with", and after "the supervision of", added "or in collaboration with", in Paragraph G(2), after "performed", deleted "at the direction of and under" and added "with", and after "supervision of", added "a licensed physician or in collaboration with", and in Paragraph G(3), after "supervising", added "or collaborating", and after "within the scope of the", added "physician".

The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, rewrote Paragraph G(1).

The 2001 amendment, effective April 2, 2001, added Subsections L and M.

The 2000 amendment, effective May 17, 2000, substituted "biennially" for "annually" in Subsection G(1) and added Subsection K.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, substituted "supervising licensed physician" for "supervising physician" in Paragraph G(3), and in Subsection I, inserted "or a visiting physician or surgeon operating under the physician's direct supervision" near the middle of the first sentence and added "in New Mexico" at the end of the first sentence.

The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, added "employment and" and deleted "not in violation of any other statute" following "customary manner" in Subsection I.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, inserted "and oriental medicine" in Paragraph (9) of Subsection F; and substituted "department of health" for "health and environment department" in Paragraph (1) of Subsection H.

The 1991 amendment, effective June 14, 1991, in Subsection H, rewrote the introductory paragraph following "nurse practitioners" which read "or medical technologists permitted by law or established by custom as part of the duties required in their employment by" and substituted "public health division" for "health services division" in Paragraph (1); added Subsection I; designated a formerly undesignated provision as Subsection J; and made a related stylistic change. Laws 1991, ch. 148, § 4 enacted identical amendments to this section. The section was set out as amended by Laws 1991, ch. 164, § 1. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.

The 1989 amendment, effective July 1, 1989, renumbered this section, which formerly was 61-6-16 NMSA 1978; substituted "Medical Practice Act" for "Sections 67-5-1 through 67-5-23 NMSA 1978" in the introductory paragraph and Subsection I; substituted "regulated in this state" for "regulated by the health and social services department" in Subsection C; substituted present Subsection D for former Subsection D, which read "surgeons of the United States in the discharge of their official duties"; substituted present Subsection E for former Subsection F, which read as set out in the 1986 Replacement Pamphlet; added Subsections F(9) and F(10); made minor stylistic changes in Subsections G(1) and G(2); substituted present Subsection G(3) for former Subsection G(3), which read as set out in the 1986 Replacement Pamphlet; in Subsection H(1) inserted "licensed physician or a" and substituted "health services division of the health and environment department" for "health and social services department"; and, in Subsection I, inserted "as provided by law".

Chiropractors' services are not physicians' services under the medicaid program. Chiropractors' services thus are not included in the general categories of medical treatment which must be included in the state plan. Katz v. N.M. Dep't of Human Servs., 1981-NMSC-012, 95 N.M. 530, 624 P.2d 39.

Delegation of dispensation of dangerous drugs. — The board of medical examiners acted outside the scope of its authority and contrary to law when it promulgated a rule allowing physicians, in certain circumstances, to delegate to physician's assistants the task of dispensing dangerous drugs. N.M. Pharm. Ass'n v. State, 1987-NMSC-054, 106 N.M. 73, 738 P.2d 1318 (decided under prior law).

Board to determine credentials. — While a New Mexico license was not required as a prerequisite to the employment of a doctor by the Carrie Tingley hospital, only the New Mexico board of medical examiners had authority to determine the present standing or validity of the doctor's credentials in other states. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-136.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 61 Am. Jur. 2d Physicians, Surgeons, and Other Healers §§ 35 to 50.

Optometry as within statute relating to practice of medicine, 22 A.L.R. 1173.

Dentist as physician or surgeon within statutes, 115 A.L.R. 261.

70 C.J.S. Physicians, Surgeons, and Other Health-Care Providers §§ 6, 7, 26, 27.