Put a name to the person making the decision.

Look up your treating professional’s licence.

1. Ask who decides on your treatment.

   Before the visit, request their full name along with the number on their licence. Ask which role their licence covers: doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, for example.

   If they are not a doctor, ask which state licensing board’s search to use.

2. Match the record to your location.

   Choose the state record for your location at visit time, including when you are travelling.

   On September 26, 2026, telehealth licence guidance required the health professional to have a licence or another form of permission to practise in the patient’s state.

3. Open the state board’s own search.

   For a doctor, use the medical-board directory to reach that state’s public record.

   State medical boards are the offices that give doctors their licences.

   Find the medical board for your state

   The public record gives a doctor’s licence status, along with any publicly listed penalties for breaking rules.

4. Read the result and ask about gaps.

   Compare the name and licence details. Ask the board or the service about anything unclear.

   A licence record without public penalties does not prove the quality of the care.

Then check how the visit works.

• Ask how the health professional can ask more questions.

  Medical-board guidance rejects a prescription decision made solely from preset questions and answers on a form.

  It also rejects forms that leave out information needed for proper care.

  A form can help start the conversation. Ask whether your treating professional can explore your answers with further questions.

• Find out where to send questions once your visit ends.

  That guidance also calls for a route patients can use for questions later in their care.

  Ask how questions are handled after medicine arrives, and how to arrange care in person if needed.