Finding care
Start with care for your concern
Choose a place to discuss the problem, then discuss the options.
You can start with a clinic visit in person or a visit with a doctor from home. A visit or exchange from a distance is called telehealth.
Ask for an assessment
Medical-board guidance sets an equal standard of care for visits from a distance and those held in person.
Under that guidance, tests or an examination in person should be arranged if needed for the assessment.
Tell the doctor what is bothering you, describe the changes you hope for and explain your earlier attempts to help the problem. Ask what the doctor needs to know before talking about a product.
Check the doctor and the care discussion
As of September 2026, a remote doctor needed a licence or other proper permission covering the state in which the patient was physically present for the appointment.
A doctor’s licence status, along with any board penalties or formal charges, is published by state medical boards.
Even a doctor’s record without published board penalties leaves the quality of care unproven.
Ask for the doctor’s full name and licence details. Use the list of medical boards in the chapter notes to find your state board’s website.
Can you and the doctor ask more questions?
A questionnaire limited to set answers cannot be the sole basis for treatment under medical-board guidance if it gathers too little information.
The binding rules differ by state, as checked in September 2026.
Ask how you can ask the doctor your own questions and how the doctor can ask you more. Get that answer before paying for the visit.
Name the pharmacy if a drug is discussed
FDA notes that users of online services offering made-to-order medicines may not know which pharmacy prepared the drug.
FDA links to state pharmacy records so readers can check the licence of an online pharmacy.
Ask the doctor or service to write down the pharmacy’s full name. Use that name to check its licence with the state pharmacy board. Check the doctor’s licence separately with the state medical board.