Visit notes · Questions to keep

Get a name, an explanation and room for questions.

Use an in-person medical visit or a licensed telehealth service as the setting for an assessment. Telehealth is care delivered through a video link, a phone call or an exchange online.

Identify the person making the decision

Prescription means the medicine order written by a licensed health professional.

Before the visit. Write down who will assess you: their full name, job title and whether they are a doctor, nurse or another health professional.
During it. Bring a list of medicines, the treatment name and the result you are hoping for. Ask how the proposed plan fits those details.
Before agreeing. If the assessment finds that this treatment does not suit you, what happens next? Who will deal with your questions after the visit?

For nursing or physician-assistant care, ask which state board holds that person's licence record.

Check the health professional and pharmacy separately

The finding

The state medical board lets you check a doctor's licence and any public record of action against that doctor. States differ in what they disclose.

Source to readFind the relevant state medical board

Use the board's own search for the full name. A record without public action gives you no rating of care quality.

The finding

Use FDA's lookup page to reach a state's pharmacy records and check the name printed on the label.

Source to readOpen FDA's state pharmacy lookup

Match the pharmacy's actual name to the board entry. A badge on a website cannot do that check for you.

The finding

The person providing care needs permission to practise where you are located, either through a relevant licence or another legal basis. The US health department described that position in guidance reviewed September 26, 2026; it covers care by phone, video or online messages.

Source to readUS health-department guidance on licences

The Department of Health and Human Services is the US health department. State rules set the requirements and any exceptions.

Questions people bring to the visit

Can an online form be part of an assessment?

An online form can be part of an assessment. The prescriber must assess your health rather than just accept your treatment choice, and you must be able to ask questions. Guidance checked September 26, 2026 allows online exchanges only if the care would meet the standard expected at an in-person appointment. State rules still decide what is allowed.

Source to readState medical boards' suggested care policy

This is a model policy: an example for state boards to use, rather than a rule that applies nationwide. Ask how more questions, tests or an examination will be arranged when needed.

Is choosing a treatment from a menu enough?

The medical boards' May 2026 guidance says a prescriber must assess the patient rather than simply approve a choice from a treatment menu.

Source to readMedical-board guidance on prescribing

Its publisher is FSMB, short for Federation of State Medical Boards. This document gives guidance rather than creating national law.

What if the assessment needs an examination or test?

Under the medical boards' suggested policy, a prescriber must complete or arrange the tests and examinations the assessment needs. Another option is to refer you for that care, meaning send you to someone able to provide it. This remains guidance for state boards, rather than national law.

Source to readRead the suggested assessment policy

Ask what each proposed test is intended to answer.