Doctors, Are You Ready for July 1st?

by Nan Gallagher, Esq.

The New Jersey Health Care Transparency Act, which goes into effect on July 1, 2021, requires any advertisement for a health care professional licensed or certified to practice under State law to include the type of licensure the professional was issued. Advertisement is defined as any situation where a health care professional is utilizing a professional degree or license to influence opinion or infer expertise in a health care topic. Health care professionals are to communicate, when providing in-person care, the specific professional license and professional degree the professional holds. Additionally, a health care professional is provided to communicate the information through a name tag or embroidered identification. The name tag or embroidery is to include, at a minimum, the full name of the health care professional. In an ambulatory care facility, a behavioral health care facility, a hospital, or a long-term care facility and at the discretion of facilities administrators, the professional’s name can be listed as the full first name and last name or the full first name and first initial of the last name. Name tags or embroidery are to also include the professional degree and professional license of the health care professional. If a health care professional is providing direct patient care at a hospital, the professional is to wear a recent photograph, unless otherwise directed by hospital administrators.

Under the law, a poster or other signage, in sufficiently-sized font, is to be placed at the office or offices where the health care professional provides health care services to scheduled patients in an ambulatory setting, and convey the professional license and professional degree held by the professional. The law provides that “office” does include in-patient hospital or emergency department patient care. Additionally, the law excludes telehealth and telemedicine services from the requirements regarding name tags and embroidery as well as posters and other signage. Under the law, a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine who supervises or participates in collaborative practice agreements with non-physician health care professionals who provide inperson patient care at the same practice location as the medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine is required to post clearly and conspicuously in each office when the medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine is present. As used in the law, “office” does not include in-patient hospital or emergency department patient care.