Make the care questions concrete.

• Your goal and your health history

  Write down what you hope to change, your current medicines and the health problems you have had.

  Tell the clinician about pregnancy plans, family thyroid cancer, stomach problems and any planned surgery.

• The exact medicine

  Ask for the ingredient and brand name. Ask whether the medicine is a shot or a pill. Ask what the clinician wants it to treat in your case.

• The follow-up plan

  Ask when your next review would be, how to raise a problem between visits and who answers those questions.

  Ask how progress will be judged and what the plan would be if the treatment no longer fits your needs.

• Any tests or local visit

  Ask whether the assessment needs tests or an in-person exam, and who arranges them.

  Medical-board advice says the online doctor must arrange tests or send you to another clinician if checking your health shows they are needed.

Get the person’s name before checking the clinic’s marketing.

1. A

   Get the doctor’s details

   Ask for the full name, licence number and the state where the doctor is allowed to treat you.

2. B

   Open the board’s own records

   Go through the medical-board directory to open your state’s official board. Search there for the doctor’s name.

3. C

   Match the record to the visit

   Check the name, current licence status and any public discipline record. Ask the service to clear up any mismatch.

State medical boards show whether doctors’ licences are current. They also list public actions against doctors who have broken the board’s rules.

You cannot judge the quality of a doctor’s care just by finding no public action in the record.

• Permission follows your location

  As of September 26, 2026, the doctor treating you online must be allowed to practise in your state at the time of the visit.

  Some states let a doctor licensed in another state register to give online care. This permission is called telehealth registration. The rules differ by state.

  Ask for the registration details if the doctor uses this permission. Ask your state’s medical board to confirm that it allows the doctor to treat you online.

• An online questionnaire can be part of care

  States set different rules for how an online doctor can check your health, as of September 26, 2026. Some states allow a first visit without live video if it still meets their care requirements.

  Medical-board advice says a questionnaire with the same set of questions for everyone is not enough on its own. The clinician must get enough information to decide on treatment and be able to ask you more questions about your answers.

  A questionnaire reviewed by a clinician who can ask more questions may be part of care. It still has to meet your state’s rules.

• The medicine is a decision to discuss

  A doctor must assess your health before prescribing, according to medical-board advice checked on September 26, 2026. Your choice from a medicine menu alone is not enough.

  The guidance also recommends a way for patients to bring further questions to their clinician.

Ask which pharmacy makes or supplies the medicine. Get its name before checking its record.

The FDA’s state lookup links to pharmacy licence records.