Choose a setting
What online care involves
A screen still needs a conversation.
Ask how the service gathers your health history and how you can reply. Some visits happen live; others involve sending information for a doctor or other health professional to read later.
The care check
NAME.CHECK.Bring the open question.Find out whether the visit is live
Guidance available as of September 2026 from the Federation of State Medical Boards permitted live visits or later review when proper care requirements were met. This is guidance for state boards, not legal permission for your own visit.
Each state sets the rules the service must follow. Some states restrict prescribing through forms or phone calls, so ask whether the visit format is allowed where you will be.
Ask what you will submit, who reads it and how the person treating you can ask more. Ask how you can add information after submitting the form.
Check that the assessment can adapt
A fixed form missing information needed for proper care was insufficient alone, under Federation of State Medical Boards guidance available as of September 2026.
The federation is a group of state medical boards; its guidance is not itself state law.
A form reviewed by the person treating you, with room for more questions, is different from a form that automatically leads to a product.
Ask what happens when a screen is not enough
The federation’s guidance says your treating person should arrange tests when needed or refer you to a visit in person.
- Where would I go for an exam?
- Who would receive the results?
- How would this change the fee or the next visit?
Read the record
- Read the telemedicine policy
Read about checking your health, asking questions and arranging tests or an in-person visit. These are suggestions for state boards; ask the service about your state’s rules.