Washington state says you’re not allowed. According to this article found on digg, Washington state has enacted some new regulations aimed at preventing inappropriate behavior between patients and medical personnel. This certainly seems like an admirable goal, and some reasonable restrictions might be appropriate, since you can argue that a practitioner is in an advantageous position over the patient. The extent of the restrictions taken to their practical and potentially unreasonable limits in Eugene Volokh’s Opinion Journal article.
The author explains how a patient/practitioner affected by the rule must wait two years before a relationship may begin. This leads to an amusing hypothetical situation:
But wait; maybe before you leave and wait the two years, you ought to get a sense of whether she’s even interested, no? Except that even if you ask whether she’s potentially interested, her answer has to be: I’m sorry, but I can’t discuss the possibility of a relationship after the professional relationship ends.
Of course, this restriction does end two years after the professional relationship ends. So two years after switching dental hygienists or opticians, you can call up the person and say, “Hey, remember me, from two years ago? I only stopped coming to your office so that I could wait two years and then ask you out. So, are you interested?” At that point, she can start a relationship with you–or say, “Oh, sorry you had to stay away for two years, but I don’t think it would work out between us.”
