Check the person and the process
Check the person behind the offer.
You might discuss your skin at a clinic visit or through a telehealth service that is licensed. Ask who will assess you before discussing a product.
Write here, or print a page to keep.
Choose how to have the conversation
With telehealth, care takes place by video call, phone call or messages online. Here, “clinician” is the health professional assessing you.
A doctor must arrange any tests or exams you need, or direct you to another professional who can arrange them, says the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).
State medical boards are the government offices that license doctors.
The FSMB offers those boards a policy suggestion; its advice does not have the force of nationwide law.
Each state sets the rules that apply there, as of September 2026.
For the service you are considering, have your state medical board explain the relevant rules.
Look up the actual person
The FSMB explains that public board records show if a doctor holds a current licence, plus formal accusations of rule breaches and any penalties.
Ask which licence and training the word “specialist” refers to.
Find your state medical board and use the board’s own search.
A clean public record does not establish how good the care will be.
For a remote visit, your location matters
Under federal health guidance as of September 2026, a clinician must have a licence that covers the state you are in, or another form of permission to practise there.
- Ask: Can you assess me in the state where I will take the call?
- Ask: What happens if I need an exam that cannot be done remotely?
Find out who fills a prescription
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, oversees medicines in the U.S.
A pharmacy or doctor prepares each compounded medicine to order.
When care happens online, you may not know who made your compounded medicine, the FDA notes.
The FDA’s state pharmacy links lead to licence checks through state pharmacy boards.