TELEHEALTH CHAPTER / THE VISIT
Online care still has a real standard
Moving onto a screen moves the room, not the duties the doctor or nurse practitioner still owes.
SEARCH→CHECK→CARE
The minimum California requires
As of September 2026, any doctor whose patient is located in California needs a current California medical licence, even when the doctor lives in another state.
Before remote care begins, the doctor or nurse practitioner must explain that the visit is happening by video, phone, or app (telehealth), get the patient’s spoken or written agreement, and note it in the record.
Choosing telehealth does not block an in-person visit later.
A questionnaire may belong inside a visit
In California, an online questionnaire can count as the health check, but only if the care that follows is as careful as an office visit would be. Filling in a questionnaire does not by itself prove the care is legal or good enough.
The national group of state medical boards adds a limit. A fixed tick-box form, with nobody there to ask anything further, does not count as a proper health check.
MYTH / TAP TO CHECK
Telehealth consent means every later visit must stay online.
THE FACT
No. California law preserves the option of in-person care after someone agrees to telehealth.
The short version
Where these facts come fromGOVERNMENT PAGES
These links open the public records used for this chapter.