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Check the licence
Examine an offer
Check the record of the person assessing you
Ask for the person’s full name and the board that licenses them. Keep those details beside the name of the service.
Check the person
A service name and the name of the person assessing you are different things to ask for.
Check the place where you will be sitting
Before the appointment, share the state you will be calling from. Mention any travel that changes that location.
Beside the evidence
The patient’s location matters
US guidance reviewed in September 2026 says a doctor must be legally allowed to see patients in the state you are sitting in. A licence from that state is one way to meet this rule.
Some states accept telehealth registration, a separate permission to practise online, in place of a full licence.
Ask the state board how to check the permission the doctor says they hold.
Read the federal licensure guidance
Use the board’s public record
Use your state medical board’s lookup when checking a doctor. Ask the service which board to check if the person has a different role.
Match the full name with the record.
Read the current licence status.
Read about any limits on practice or action taken by the board.
Ask about any details you cannot match.
Beside the evidence
What the lookup can tell you
A state medical board licenses doctors and keeps their public record.
The board’s record covers the doctor’s licence and any public discipline. Discipline means action by the board because a doctor broke its rules.
States differ in what they publish. Having no discipline shown in a public record is not a measure of a doctor’s skill.
Find the state medical-board directory
Ask who will fill a prescription
If medicine is proposed, get the pharmacy’s name as well. Keep this separate from the clinician check.
Which pharmacy would prepare or send it?
Which state board holds its licence record?
Can I speak with a pharmacist about it?
Beside the evidence
A separate lookup for the pharmacy
FDA gathers links to state pharmacy records; the initials mean Food and Drug Administration.
Find your state’s pharmacy records
Another card to read
Read the medicine words
Your reading cards
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Get your bearings
The pocket checklist
The online visit
Notes to bring
Ways to seek care
Examine an offer
Check the licence
Read the medicine words
Read the evidence
Plan the conversation
Questions to take
Ask for the whole bill
Ask about coverage
Keep help in reach
Problems and help
Reasons to pause
Sources to keep
These reading cards make up a care guide; the site neither provides clinic services nor sells medicines.
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