Ask for the full name of whoever will treat you, whether a doctor or someone else. If medicine is proposed, ask for the pharmacy’s name too. Start the check with those names.
For an in-person clinic, ask who will assess the concern. For telehealth, a visit over a screen or online exchange, ask the same question.
As of September 2026, a remote doctor needs the state licence or permission required where the patient is during the visit.
Ask the service how it meets the rules where you will be sitting.
HHS: read how location and licensing workState medical boards keep public records of doctors’ licences and any action the board has taken over their conduct.
Open the list of state boards, choose your state board and search for the doctor’s full name. Compare the record with the name given for the visit.
Find the official state medical boardWhen a public record is clear, it shows no public action. It gives no rating of care quality.
If a nurse or someone other than a doctor is treating you, ask which state board holds their licence. Ask whether that licence permits them to prescribe this medicine in your state.
Pharmacies have a separate licensing body: the state board of pharmacy.
Ask for the pharmacy’s full name before paying for a plan involving medicine. Use the official record to check that name.
FDA: find the state pharmacy licence searchFinding the pharmacy in the state’s records shows it has a licence. That alone does not prove it supplies medicine correctly.
Ask the pharmacy to confirm that it prepared or supplied your exact medicine. Use the product checks to ask whether that medicine is approved or can lawfully be made to order.
Before a pharmacy ships medicine from another state, most states require it to have a licence or permit for the patient’s state, as of September 2026.
Ask the pharmacy which record covers delivery to your state. Use that state’s board to check it.