The Maryland route for online care
What has to happen before an online prescription?
Paying online and having a medical visit are different steps. Ask how the service will check your health before you commit to a treatment plan.
Does it matter where I am?
Yes: Maryland rules, checked September 28, 2026, require your treating professional to be authorised to practise here when you are in Maryland.
Give the service the location where you expect to attend the appointment, even if you will be travelling. Ask it to confirm that the person assessing you can treat you in that location.
Check what an online visit requires
Can the first visit happen online?
Maryland permits a first medical visit online, either live or by sending health details for later review, when its rules are met.
The person treating you must check who you are. They must tell you their name and type of licence, give you contact details and get your agreement to the care.
Consent means agreeing to the proposed care. Ask for any part of that explanation to be put in simpler words.
Is a form or phone call enough?
Maryland's medical board bars its doctors and physician assistants from treating or prescribing solely from a fixed online questionnaire.
Maryland's rules use the word telehealth for care at a distance. Their definition excludes a phone call alone, or care only by email or fax. This definition is not a blanket ban on all care by phone.
This definition does not say whether insurance will pay for a phone visit.
If offered a phone appointment, ask what it includes and whether a video visit or examination in person is needed. Find out how to bring up questions of your own.
What if an online visit is not enough?
Before online treatment or prescribing, Maryland requires a health check suited to you and your problem. If the person treating you decides your health needs care in person, they must provide it or arrange it with someone else.
Prepare questions for the visit