Ways to meet
How do you want to have the conversation?
Compare what each visit lets you ask, what it includes, and how it handles the next step.
Compare the answer, not just the format
- Can I ask questions before deciding?
- Can the person treating me request more details?
- What happens if a test or exam is needed?
- Who explains the plan after the visit?
Use the replies to compare practical fit. A convenient format still needs a clear plan for the parts it cannot cover.
Conversations in real time
Live video: ask and answer together
You meet at the same time with the doctor or other health professional responsible for your care. Bring your questions and ask for words you understand.
In person: discuss what the visit includes
You meet in the same room. Ask whether the appointment includes an examination, a review of past records, or plans for tests.
Ask how questions are handled after you leave. Include travel and follow-up visits when comparing the practical fit.
Phone: ask whether it fits this visit
A phone visit is a live conversation without a video connection.
The Federation of State Medical Boards advises the state boards that oversee doctors. Its guidance allows phone-only care instead of a live video visit when a patient cannot or does not want to use video. It also allows phone calls when they meet the usual professional requirements for that service.
As of September 2026, state rules on phone-only care differ.
Ask whether phone-only care can cover your health review under your state’s rules, and what happens if it cannot.
Later review: find the reply route
A later-review visit means you send information and the person treating you looks at it when you are not both online.
As of September 2026, California law allows a health review through tools such as questionnaires. The person treating you must still meet professional requirements for checking your health and deciding on care, called the “standard of care”.
An online form alone does not tell you whether those requirements have been met. Ask how missing details are checked and how a needed examination or test would be arranged.
As of September 2026, Idaho law says a set online form alone is not a valid medical basis for a prescription. A set form has fixed questions and answers, rather than a conversation that responds to your replies.
Those are examples, not a rule for every state. Ask what your service requires where you live.