check / the clinician

Find the person behind the page.

Get the treating doctor's complete name and role, or those of any other health professional treating you. Then check their permission to practise.

Check the state you will be in during the visit.

HHS says permission to provide care in your state is required for the clinician, as of September 2026.a

Give the service your planned location for the visit, then ask which permission lets the clinician provide care there.

As of September 2026, some states offer telehealth registration: permission for a clinician licensed elsewhere to treat you by phone, video or online.b

That permission usually does not allow an office or in-person treatment in your state.

Check the state board's own record for the permission the service names.

Use the board record, then read its limits.

To find the state boards for doctors with MD or DO after their names, start with the directory from the Federation of State Medical Boards.c

Some states use one licensing board for MD doctors and another for DO doctors, as of September 2026.

A doctor's licence status and any penalty imposed by the board can appear in board records.d

Finding no penalties in the record gives you no rating of the care that doctor would provide.d

Match the full name and state. Read the board's explanation of any penalty and what it means for the doctor's permission to practise.

Match the lookup to the clinician's role.

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) has a national lookup for doctors with MD or DO degrees.c

That doctor lookup does not include nurse practitioners or physician assistants, who are other types of health professional.

If your assessor is another type of health professional, ask which state board keeps their licence record.

Record their role, who handles questions, and who will make the treatment decision. Keep those answers with your shortlist.