Plan the conversation
Care checklist: check the person and the pharmacy
Choose a way to get care that lets you ask questions. Then check who is responsible for the visit and the medicine.
Where can a conversation happen?
Consider a licensed practice for care in person, or licensed telehealth care through phone calls, video or messages sent online.
Ask whether the person providing your care can assess the concern you want help with. Ask how to get an in-person examination if one is needed.
Which state matters for an online visit?
HHS advice on September 26, 2026, said medical care providers need a licence or legal permission to practise in the patient’s location.
HHS is the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Advice for state medical boards describes a few exceptions, such as follow-up when a patient already in someone’s care is travelling temporarily. State rules decide whether the person providing care is allowed to treat you.
Give the service your location for the visit, and mention any travel plans. Ask which state licence or permission covers your visit.
How can you check a doctor?
A state medical board gives doctors licences. Its public records can also show penalties against a doctor or formal accusations still awaiting a decision.
Links to those boards are available through the Federation of State Medical Boards.
Use the doctor’s full name to check the board record. Ask for the correct licensing board if another kind of care provider would write the prescription.
A record with no penalties or formal accusations still cannot show the quality of care you would receive.
Who would supply the medicine?
Before accepting a plan, request the complete name of the pharmacy. Check that name with your state’s pharmacy board.
State searches for pharmacy licences can be reached through FDA links.
On September 26, 2026, most states required a pharmacy located elsewhere to have a licence or permit from the state receiving the medicine.
Ask how to reach a pharmacist with questions about the product.