Care in a room or care online
| Route | What to ask |
|---|---|
| In person | Who will assess my health concern? Can follow-up care happen here? How are records shared with my usual doctor? |
| Telehealth | A visit by video, phone or a written exchange. Who reads my history? How can I ask questions? If I need to be examined in a room, what happens next? |
Begin with your usual doctor if you want help sorting the options. You can also ask a clinic that sees people in person, or a telehealth service, how it assesses your concern.
Check who is involved
How to check the doctor
[a]State permission rules are described as of September 26, 2026.
Your physical location during an online visit sets the relevant state; the doctor generally needs a licence or other valid permission to practise there.
A state medical board licenses doctors and publishes records of licences and board discipline.
When a medical board takes action against a doctor, that is called board discipline.
Ask the doctor for their full name and which state allows them to treat you. Use the board's own search to check that name.
A licence with no public record of board action does not establish the quality of care.
Check the pharmacy as well
[b]Pharmacies receive their licences from a state body called the board of pharmacy.
Find out which pharmacy is making or sending the medicine. Search for that pharmacy in your state board's records.
The U.S. medicine agency—the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—urges you to avoid online pharmacies absent from your state board of pharmacy's licence records.
A pharmacy's licence record is no assurance that all the medicines it sends are appropriate.
Keep this in mind
Compare access to answers and follow-up care. Check the doctor and the pharmacy separately.
Look closer at the visit formatPage notes
- [a]
- [b]
- [c]