New Mexico Statutes
Article 6 - Medicine and Surgery
Section 61-6-6 - Definitions.

As used in the Medical Practice Act:
A. "approved postgraduate training program for physicians" means a program approved by the accreditation council for graduate medical education, the American osteopathic association or other board-approved program;
B. "board" means the New Mexico medical board;
C. "collaboration" means the process by which a licensed physician and a physician assistant jointly contribute to the health care and medical treatment of patients; provided that:
(1) each collaborator performs actions that the collaborator is licensed or otherwise authorized to perform; and
(2) collaboration shall not be construed to require the physical presence of the licensed physician at the time and place services are rendered;
D. "licensed physician" means a medical or osteopathic physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act to practice medicine in New Mexico;
E. "licensee" or "health care practitioner" means a medical physician, osteopathic physician, physician assistant, polysomnographic technologist, anesthesiologist assistant, naturopathic doctor or naprapath licensed by the board to practice in New Mexico;
F. "medical college or school in good standing" for medical physicians means a board-approved medical college or school that has as high a standard as that required by the association of American medical colleges and the council on medical education of the American medical association; and for osteopathic physicians means a college of osteopathic medicine accredited by the commission of osteopathic college accreditation;
G. "medical student" means a student enrolled in a board-approved medical college or school in good standing;
H. "physician assistant" means a health care practitioner who is licensed by the board to practice as a physician assistant and who provides services to patients with the supervision of or in collaboration with a licensed physician as set forth in rules promulgated by the board;
I. "resident" means a graduate of a medical college or school in good standing who is in training in a board-approved and accredited residency training program in a hospital or facility affiliated with an approved hospital and who has been appointed to the position of "resident" or "fellow" for the purpose of postgraduate medical training;
J. "the practice of medicine" consists of:
(1) advertising, holding out to the public or representing in any manner that one is authorized to practice medicine or to practice health care that is under the authority of the board in this state;
(2) offering or undertaking to administer, dispense or prescribe a drug or medicine for the use of another person, except as authorized pursuant to a professional or occupational licensing statute set forth in Chapter 61 NMSA 1978;
(3) offering or undertaking to give or administer, dispense or prescribe a drug or medicine for the use of another person, except as directed by a licensed physician;
(4) offering or undertaking to perform an operation or procedure upon a person;
(5) offering or undertaking to diagnose, correct or treat in any manner or by any means, methods, devices or instrumentalities any disease, illness, pain, wound, fracture, infirmity, deformity, defect or abnormal physical or mental condition of a person;
(6) offering medical peer review, utilization review or diagnostic service of any kind that directly influences patient care, except as authorized pursuant to a professional or occupational licensing statute set forth in Chapter 61 NMSA 1978; or
(7) acting as the representative or agent of a person in doing any of the things listed in this subsection;
K. "the practice of medicine across state lines" means:
(1) the rendering of a written or otherwise documented medical opinion concerning diagnosis or treatment of a patient within this state by a physician located outside this state as a result of transmission of individual patient data by electronic, telephonic or other means from within this state to the physician or the physician's agent; or
(2) the rendering of treatment to a patient within this state by a physician located outside this state as a result of transmission of individual patient data by electronic, telephonic or other means from within this state to the physician or the physician's agent;
L. "sexual contact" means touching the primary genital area, groin, anus, buttocks or breast of a patient or allowing a patient to touch another's primary genital area, groin, anus, buttocks or breast in a manner that is commonly recognized as outside the scope of acceptable medical or health care practice;
M. "sexual penetration" means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio or anal intercourse, whether or not there is any emission, or introducing any object into the genital or anal openings of another in a manner that is commonly recognized as outside the scope of acceptable medical or health care practice; and
N. "United States" means the fifty states, its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia.
History: 1953 Comp., § 67-5-3.1, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 361, § 1; 1982, ch. 110, § 1; 1978 Comp., § 61-6-4, recompiled as § 61-6-6 by Laws 1989, ch. 269, § 6; 1991, ch. 148, § 1; 1994, ch. 80, § 1; 1997, ch. 187, § 1; 2001, ch. 96, § 1; 2003, ch. 19, § 6; 2008, ch. 54, § 12; 2011, ch. 31, § 2; 2017, ch. 103, § 1; 2019, ch. 244, § 16; 2021, ch. 54, § 21.
Recompilations. — Laws 1989, ch. 9, § 1 recompiled former 61-6-6 NMSA 1978, relating to certification as physician's assistant, as 61-6-7 NMSA 1978, effective March 4, 1989.
Cross references. — For provision for telemedicine license, see 61-6-11.1 NMSA 1978.
The 2021 amendment, effective June 18, 2021, revised the definitions of terms to include osteopathic and medical physicians and osteopathic physician assistants in the Medical Practice Act; in Subsection A, after "training program", added "for physicians", and after "graduate medical education", added "the American osteopathic association or other board-approved program"; in Subsection D, after "medical", deleted "doctor" and added "or osteopathic physician"; in Subsection E, after "'licensee'", added "'or health care practitioner'", and after "medical", deleted "doctor" and added "physician, osteopathic physician"; in Subsection F, after "standing", added "for medical physicians", and after "American medical association", added "and for osteopathic physicians means a college of osteopathic medicine accredited by the commission of osteopathic college accreditation"; in Subsection H, after "means a health", deleted "professional" and added "care practitioner"; deleted Subsection I, which defined "intern", and redesignated former Subsections J through O as Subsections I through N, respectively; in Subsection J(1), after "authorized to practice medicine", added "or to practice health care that is under the authority of the board"; in Subsection L, after "acceptable medical", added "or health care"; and in Subsection M, after "scope of acceptable medical", added "or health care".
The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, included "naturopathic doctor" in the definition of "licensee"; in the introductory clause, after "As used in", deleted "Chapter 61, Article 6 NMSA 1978" and added "the Medical Practice Act"; and in Subsection E, after "anesthesiologist assistant", added "naturopathic doctor".
The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, defined "collaboration" as used in this article to provide for collaboration between a physician assistant and a licensed physician, and made technical changes; in Subsection A, after "approved by the", deleted "accrediting" and added "accreditation", after "council", deleted "on" and added "for", and after "education", deleted "of the American medical association or by the board"; added a new Subsection C and redesignated the succeeding subsections accordingly; and in Subsection H, after "services to patients", deleted "under" and added "with", after "supervision", deleted "and direction", after "of", added "or in collaboration with", and after "licensed physician", added "as set forth in rules promulgated by the board".
The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, in Subsection D, defined a "licensee" to include a licensed naprapath.
The 2008 amendment, effective July 1, 2008, added "polysomnography technologist" in Subsection D.
The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, deleted former Subsections A defining "acting in good faith" and F defining "person"; added present Subsections A and D and redesignated subsections accordingly; substituted "medical board" for "board of medical examiners" in Subsection B; rewrote Subsection G; deleted "postgraduate year one or" at the beginning of Subsection H; in Subsection I, deleted "postgraduate year two through eight or" at the beginning, substituted "assistant resident" for "fellow" near the end; in Paragraph J(7), deleted "Paragraphs (1) through (6) of" following "things listed in".
The 2001 amendment, effective April 2, 2001, added Subsection K, and renumbered the remaining subsections accordingly.
The 1997 amendment, effective July 1, 1997, substituted "licensed" for "registered" in Subsection G; and deleted "approved by the board" following "standing" in Subsections H and I.
The 1994 amendment, effective May 18, 1994, substituted "eight" for "five" in Subsection I; added "administer, dispense or" and added language and punctuation beginning with ", except" and ending with "1978" in Subsection J(2); substituted "administer, dispense or prescribe any drug" for "administer any dangerous drug" in Subsection J(3); deleted "or" following the semicolon in Subsection J(5); added Subsection J(6); substituted "(6)" for "(5)" in former Subsection J(6) and renumbered it as Subsection J(7); deleted "and" following the semicolon in Subsection K; added "; and" at the end of Subsection L; and added Subsection M.
The 1991 amendment, effective June 14, 1991, substituted "or treat" for "and treat" near the beginning of Paragraph (5) in Subsection J; added Subsections K and L; and made related and other stylistic changes in Subsections D and I.
The 1989 amendment, effective July 1, 1989, renumbered this section, which formerly was 61-6-4 NMSA 1978; added present Subsection A; redesignated former Subsections A and B as present Subsections B and C; in present Subsection C, substituted "medical doctor licensed under the Medical Practice Act" for "physician licensed"; added Subsections D, E and F; redesignated former Subsection C as present Subsection G while substituting therein "physician assistant" for "physician's assistant" and "registered" for "certified"; and added Subsections H through J.
License requirement does not violate first amendment rights. — The Medical Practice Act does not purport to regulate the expression of ideas or opinions concerning effective treatments or other issues of public concern, nor does it require all speakers at seminars held in New Mexico to be licensed to practice in New Mexico. The act simply requires those who engage in conduct in New Mexico that amounts to the practice of medicine to obtain a New Mexico license. Thus, any burden on the exercise of first amendment rights is at best minimal and incidental, and the act leaves open alternative channels of communication through which ideas and opinions can be expressed. State v. Ongley, 1994-NMCA-073, 118 N.M. 431, 882 P.2d 22.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 70 C.J.S. Physicians, Surgeons, and Other Health-Care Providers §§ 2, 3, 5.

Structure New Mexico Statutes