Finding care by screen or in person
The search can begin with a drug name. The care conversation can begin with you: your health, questions, and what help you are looking for.
Facts checked September 26, 2026.
A room, a screen, a conversation
In-person care means meeting at a clinic. Telehealth means care at a distance, using a screen or another way to talk online.
Ask the clinic you would visit, or the licensed telehealth service you would use, how it reviews your history and makes room for questions.
State medical boards give doctors permission to practise and can take action when care falls short.
The Federation of State Medical Boards, their national group, offers advice to those boards.
Its advice sets the same care standard for screen visits and visits in a room.
States can use this advice when making their own rules; it is not itself a nationwide law about prescribing.
Your location is part of the licence check
Federal health advice checked on September 26, 2026 says a person treating you must be licensed or have another form of legal permission in the state where you are during care.
The exact state rules and exceptions differ.
Some states let an out-of-state doctor use a registration for online care in place of a full licence from that state.
Ask: “Which state board can confirm your permission to treat me here?” Ask for the licence or registration number so you can check. Include the state where you will be when travelling.
Check the doctor’s recordA form needs a way to ask more
The board group’s advice says a fixed set of online questions alone is not enough to prescribe a medicine.
An online form may ask a new question based on your last answer.
That can be part of care if the doctor can also ask more questions and get all the details needed.
Ask how a person reviews the answers and how you can respond to a new question.
Care can move from the screen to a room
The same guidance calls for arranging any tests or in-person exams that care requires.
Ask where that would happen and who would receive the results. Ask how the next conversation is arranged.
A drug menu can be a place to start asking. It is not a substitute for a conversation about your health.