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First read Check a name

Care questions A question kit for prescriber searches

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Verifying who will prescribe

# Can you check the name behind the offer?

Ask for the full name and professional role of whoever will assess you. Then match that person to the right public record.

Check the person and the pharmacy separately.

What you are checking

How to check it

The doctor

A state medical board holds licence information and public disciplinary records for doctors.

Use the public record

For links to the boards holding doctor records, use the Federation of State Medical Boards.

Where the visit happens

As checked on September 26, 2026, the patient’s location during a visit determines which state’s licence or other permission the doctor needs. The exceptions depend on the state.

Give your location

Ask which state permission covers your visit, especially if you will be travelling.

The dispensing pharmacy

Pharmacies have a separate state licensing board.

Search its own record

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points readers to pharmacy licence searches run by states; a licence listing does not guarantee each fill’s quality.

## Before opening a register

Ask for the full name as it appears on the licence.

Confirm the person’s role: doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant.

For a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, first identify the state board responsible for the licence, then search its register.

DocInfo, the Federation of State Medical Boards’ doctor search, does not list nurse practitioners or physician assistants.

A clean public discipline record gives you no rating of the doctor’s care quality.

## Keep the result in context

Match the name and role rather than relying on a badge on an advert. If the record is unclear, ask the relevant board what it means. A name mismatch is a question to resolve before moving ahead.

As checked on September 26, 2026, most states require a pharmacy outside their borders to have permission to send medicine into the state.

### An answer to keep

Name, role, board and the state that covers my visit:

Go to the source record Public records have limits. The state board is the place to ask about a record that does not match.

Look up your state’s medical board

FDA: state pharmacy licence searches

Federal telehealth licence guidance

## Now look at how care will happen

Compare online and in-person visits

Care questions

This guide helps you find your footing in care; it does not treat patients or fill orders.

Medicine names Red flags Common questions Source notes

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