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Care, checked.

A workbook for your care search

The person check

# Check the person treating you

Follow a name to a record

Get the assessing doctor’s name in full. Get the spelling and the board that holds their licence.

Ask for the name Get the full spelling

Find the right board Use the state directory

Read the record Match the details yourself

Follow the name to the public record.

## Find the public record

According to the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), a group of state boards, a doctor’s licence status appears in the board’s public record.

A board’s public record can also show punishment it gave a doctor who broke its rules.

The board may list cases where it says a doctor broke its rules but has not yet reached a decision.

The FSMB directory, checked on September 17, 2026, links to the state boards’ own sites.

Find your state medical board

Open the board’s own search. Check that the name in full and the licence details belong to the doctor you expect to see. If the match is unclear, ask the board or doctor to explain it.

## Check the state for an online visit

HHS, the US Department of Health and Human Services, says the doctor needs a licence or other permission where you sit during a remote visit, as of September 26, 2026.

Telehealth means care over video, phone, or an online form. Tell the service your location during the visit, including details of any travel.

Read the guidance on location

HHS describes several ways states allow care across state lines. Ask the state board which route applies to the doctor you are checking.

HHS: getting started with licences HHS: care across state lines

## Read the record with its limits

A clear record shows no public punishment by the board or case still waiting for its decision.

It does not tell you how good the doctor is.

Read the board-record note

If the record lists a punishment or a case still waiting for a decision, open the board’s document. Ask the board what happened and how it relates to the care being offered.

FSMB: information for the public

## Keep a licence-check note

Full name and licence details

State where I will receive the visit

Board record I read

Anything I need explained

## Carry this forward

Match the person to the record yourself.

Keep a licence check separate from a judgement about the treatment.

Make sense of reviews →

This workbook is a guide for checking care, not a clinic where care is given or a seller of treatments.

Look at the evidence Read this chapter as text Read the check path as text

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Opening page Begin with your goal Check a licence Read reviews Check the evidence Understand visits Name the medicine Write out the cost Check coverage Plan for problems Take your questions