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Online and in-person care

# What does getting care involve?

Make room for a real assessment.

Telehealth is care from a clinician, meaning a health professional, using an online exchange, a phone call or a video call. In-person care means meeting in a room. Start by asking how your concern will be assessed.

Care facts checked in September 2026.

[Start reading](#where-care)

Know how the next step works.

On this page

[Where can the conversation happen?](#where-care)

[Must the first visit be in person?](#first-visit)

[Is a form enough on its own?](#forms-and-menu)

[What if a test or examination is needed?](#tests-and-next)

[Read the sources](#reading)

Ask for the answer
in plain words.

## Where can the conversation happen?

The broad choices are remote care with a licensed clinician or care from a clinician you see in person. Ask how your concern would be assessed.

As of September 2026, online prescribing rules differ between states; there is no single state rule that applies across the country.

The national organisation for state medical boards says remote care must reach the standard required when you visit in person.

The care standard means the level of assessment and care expected for your medical concern.

The Federation of State Medical Boards is that group; it issues guidance for boards. Guidance is distinct from the rules your state enforces.

## Must the first visit be in person?

For prescription medicines that are not controlled drugs, a first visit in person is not required by federal law, as of September 2026.

Controlled drugs are medicines with extra government restrictions. Ask the clinician whether your medicine is in that group; state rules and the expected level of care still matter.

Some first visits use answers you send online for a clinician to read later, without a live phone or video call. The clinician must still assess you properly, and state rules vary.

Ask whether you will speak with the clinician live or send answers to be read later. Ask why that approach is enough to assess your concern.

Ask in your own words

What will the clinician review, and when will we each have a chance to ask more questions?

## Is a form enough on its own?

As of September 2026, medical-board guidance rejects treatment based only on a fixed form or a patient’s choice from a treatment menu.

An intake form gathers your starting information. A form that lets a clinician ask more questions is different from a fixed form. The guidance does not ban every online intake form.

Ask what happens after someone reads your answers, rather than treating the form as the whole visit.

## What if a test or examination is needed?

Medical-board guidance says clinicians must complete needed tests, arrange them elsewhere, or refer the patient for the required assessment.

A referral means being sent to another health professional for part of the care.

Before paying, ask how that next step works. Bring your concerns, past care and current medicine names to the discussion.

Before the conversation ends, ask for written steps explaining what happens next, who handles it, and how to ask a new question.

Ask in your own words

If a screen cannot give you enough information, how will you arrange the next assessment?

Read with a purpose

## The sources behind these questions

### [Federal guidance on care across states](https://telehealth.hhs.gov/licensure/licensing-across-state-lines)

Read how a clinician can get permission to treat someone in another state. Each state sets its own requirements.

### [Medical-board guidance on online prescribing](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/guidance-on-recent-trends-in-prescribing-and-dispensing-adopted.pdf)

Read the assessment and follow-up sections. This is board guidance, not a replacement for your state’s enforceable rules.

Keep the question moving

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This question kit helps you understand care; this site runs no clinic and does not sell medicines.

[Read the source notes](/source-notes/)

[Text copy of this page](/common-questions/index.md)

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