Telehealth primer · care through a screen
What happens in an online visit?
You open a link and see a form. Is that the visit itself, or only the intake, the sign-up questions collected before anyone medical looks at your answers?
Picture this
Online care can use video, phone, or a form read later. The format matters less than whether a licensed clinician gathers enough information and can ask follow-up questions.
Before the visit
The clinician must explain that the visit uses telehealth, get spoken or written consent, and record that consent. Agreeing to telehealth does not block later in-person care.
During the assessment
In California, a clinician may not prescribe medicine online without a proper exam first and a medical reason for it. That exam can be a video call or even a health questionnaire, but only if the clinician reviews it as carefully as good in-person care requires. In practice, look for a licensed clinician who reads your answers and can ask you follow-up questions. An online form is not an automatic pass.
Afterward
A clear service explains who reviewed the answers, how questions reach that clinician, which pharmacy fills a prescription, and what follow-up is available. If an exam or test is needed, the next step can move offline.
California telehealth law on this page was checked as of September 2026.
Next in the guideBuild a first set of questions