What getting care can involve

Put the useful details in reach

Have your medicine list, past diagnoses, allergies, and previous test results ready if you have them. Note what you hope will change and what you have tried before.

There is no need to write a polished story. A short note can help you remember what matters when the visit begins.

Ask what the assessment needs

Try: “Can this be assessed in this visit? What else do you need to know? Who reviews any test results?”

When a remote assessment cannot do the full job, Federation of State Medical Boards guidance requires arrangements for needed tests and in-person follow-up.

This advice does not mean everyone needs a blood test. Ask whether your health concern calls for a test or an in-person visit.

Some medicines have a different state rule

A controlled drug is a medicine subject to extra legal controls. As of October 1, 2026, Minnesota’s prescription exam rule generally requires an in-person exam for certain listed drug groups.

Human growth hormone and hCG are medicine names on Minnesota’s controlled-drug list, as of October 1, 2026. hCG is short for human chorionic gonadotropin; it is a separate medicine from growth hormone. If either is offered to you, ask what health problem it would treat.

For those two medicines, a video visit alone does not meet this state exam rule. A suitable earlier in-person exam can count, including one by another prescriber at the same clinic or a practitioner involved in a referral.

The rule allows a telehealth exam for erectile-dysfunction medicines and medicines used to treat opioid addiction. Those exceptions do not cover growth hormone or hCG. As of October 1, 2026, this rule does not require an in-person exam for ordinary medicines outside its listed groups.

Leave with a next step you can name

Ask what happens after the visit, how a decision is explained, and whom to contact with questions. Care may include more discussion rather than a prescription.