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[THE CARE CHECK A care-search workbook](/)

Chapters

[A Start here](/)

[B The plain start](/plain-start/)

[C The FDA status](/primer/)

[D Check the care route](/primer-questions/)

[E Questions for a visit](/what-to-ask/)

[F Separate the charges](/cost-primer/)

[G Ask who pays](/insurance-primer/)

[H What is unknown](/safety-primer/)

[I Check a claim](/careful-with/)

[J Read the record](/source-primer/)

Chapter D · Check the care route

# Check the person, then the offer.

A clinic name is not enough to work with. Get the name of the person who will assess you, and check the record that belongs to that person.

[Start reading](#reading)

Your check to keep

## Save the result, not just the badge

In your own notes, keep the person’s name, the board checked, the permission found and any point still unclear.

The FTC, the US consumer protection agency, cautions that official-looking seals on health sites can be faked.

[Next: prepare for the visit](/what-to-ask/)

## Choose a care route for the problem

Online care can use video, phone calls or written messages.

Consider an online service with licensed health professionals or a clinic you can visit in person. Ask whether the visit can address the problem behind your search.

Medical board guidance says the service should arrange an in-person visit if a needed exam or test cannot be done by screen or phone.

Ask how the service arranges that next step. Keep this question open before paying.

[See the questions for a visit](/what-to-ask/)

## Check the permission for your visit

### Check the state where you will be

The initials HHS stand for Department of Health and Human Services, a US agency.

HHS guidance says health professionals need a licence or another permission valid in the patient’s location during the visit, as of September 2026.

Some states let health professionals from another state register for permission to provide online care, as of September 2026.

Ask which permission applies to your location.

For a doctor, confirm it with the state medical board, the body that handles doctor licences.

[Read HHS guidance on licences](https://telehealth.hhs.gov/licensure/getting-started-licensure)

### Look up the doctor’s record

State medical boards show if a doctor holds a current licence, along with any public action that board has taken against the doctor.

For links to those boards, open the directory published by the Federation of State Medical Boards.

Follow the link for your state, open its licence search, and enter the doctor’s full name. Match the name and licence details.

States publish different details. A doctor’s record without public board action does not show the quality of care that doctor provides.

[Find your state’s medical board](https://www.fsmb.org/contact-a-state-medical-board/)

### Check the pharmacy separately

If a medicine is proposed, ask for the names of the pharmacy making it and the pharmacy sending it.

Pharmacy licences are kept by state pharmacy boards, separately from doctors’ records.

For state record searches on online pharmacies, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) supplies links.

A listed licence confirms a licence exists; it does not establish that a particular treatment is appropriate.

[Open the FDA’s pharmacy lookup links](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/locate-state-licensed-online-pharmacy)

Continue the workbook

[Questions for a visit](/what-to-ask/)

Save the doctor’s and pharmacy’s licence details with your questions before booking.

[Read the sources](/source-primer/)

[Start over](/)

[Text edition](/primer-questions/index.md)