Care at a distance
Check the online visit.
Online care can begin with a conversation or information you send. Ask how the clinician reviews that information and how you can ask questions back.
Know how to ask questions
Read the offer
Confirm where the visit takes place
As of September 2026, a doctor seeing you remotely while you are in California needs a current license from California. Medical Board telehealth guidance
Tell the service where you plan to be during the visit, and update it if travel changes your location. Ask which clinician will see you at that location.
Look more closely
Know what consent means
As of September 2026, California requires the clinician to explain the use of telehealth, get spoken or written consent and record that consent. California’s telehealth consent rule
That consent does not prevent a later in-person visit during the course of care, under the rule checked in September 2026. Read the consent rule
Ask what the visit includes, how replies arrive and how records are shared. Consent to the visit format is a useful point to pause and ask.
Carry this forward
A form is not the whole answer
As of September 2026, California allows a doctor to assess you before prescribing through questions you answer online, even without a live conversation. The doctor still has to review your health problem properly before choosing treatment. California’s examination rule
The format alone cannot tell you whether your concern was assessed well. Ask how the clinician resolves missing information and what would lead to a live conversation.
Under medical-board guidance checked in September 2026, needed tests and assessments in person must be arranged by the clinician, either directly or through referral. The medical boards’ telehealth guidance
Keep in mind
The chapter recap
Check the person, the consent and the plan for missing information. The visit format is only part of the assessment.
Prepare for the visit