Online and in-person care both need a clear plan.
Telehealth means care through a screen, a phone call or an online exchange.
Compare a licensed telehealth service with an in-person clinic. Ask each how it would assess the same health concern.
As of September 2026, prescribing rules for online visits differ from one state to another.
As of September 2026, your location during the visit determines which state’s rules the clinician must follow.
Some states let a doctor licensed in another state sign up with their medical board to provide care online instead of getting a full local licence.
Ask whether the doctor has a local licence or this permission for online care. Ask the state board to confirm it covers your visit. If you are travelling, tell the service where you will be.
Follow the names to public records.
State pharmacy licence searches are linked from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.
Ask for the names
Request the clinician’s full name and licence details. Ask which pharmacy would make or send the medicine.
Find the doctor’s board
Use the state-board directory. Open the board for the state in which your visit will happen. Search the doctor’s full name.
Read the public record
Match the name and licence details. Check that the doctor’s licence is still current, and look for any action the board has taken against the doctor. Ask the board to explain anything in the record you do not understand.
Check the pharmacy separately
Use the FDA pharmacy-lookup page to reach your state’s board. Search the pharmacy’s full name. Check that the pharmacy’s name matches the one on your care offer or medicine label.
State medical boards publish the current status of doctors’ licences and any action they have taken against those doctors.
A clear record does not measure the quality of the care.
The doctor directory does not list nurse practitioners or physician assistants, who are other types of health professionals.
Nurse practitioners are nurses who may assess patients and prescribe medicines under state rules.
Physician assistants may provide medical care and prescribe under state rules.
Their permission to practise, including any need to work with a doctor, depends on the state’s rules.
Ask which state board licenses the person treating you. Use that board’s records to check the name and permission to provide your care.
FDA advises you to avoid an online pharmacy missing from the state’s licence database.
Ask how the assessment and follow-up work.
A group of medical boards called the Federation of State Medical Boards issues guidance about care.
Its guidance checked as of September 2026 rejects treatment chosen only from a menu without a proper assessment.
The guidance also calls for patients to have a way of asking questions after their visit.
This guidance is advice for state boards. Each state’s own rules decide what is required.
Ask who reads your history. Ask how to reach that person after the visit. Ask how an in-person examination would be arranged if one is needed.
The guidance says the doctor should arrange needed tests or send you for care that needs an in-person examination.
Read past a badge.
FDA registration means a business is entered in the FDA’s records. A drug listing is an entry for a medicine in an FDA database.
As of September 2026, neither entry means FDA has approved the medicine.
Keep the licence record and the medicine record as separate checks. Save the names so the next conversation can be specific.
Read the source
Open the original record
- State medical boards: start here
This directory takes you to the board itself. The board’s record is the place to check a doctor.
- FDA: reach a pharmacy licence search
Choose your state, then use its own licence database.
- Medical-board guidance on prescribing
Read the assessment guidance. It does not replace the rule in your state.