Start with where you will be sitting
If you will be in Arizona, ask what allows the clinician to treat a patient here.
Some clinicians who hold a licence outside Arizona can register with an Arizona board for telehealth care here, as of October 3, 2026. This is called telehealth registration. The law sets conditions, including a licence without practice limits, checks on past licence problems, and insurance for claims about their care.
As of October 3, 2026, this registration is different from holding a full Arizona licence; it gives no permission to practise here in person.
If the clinician uses this route, ask for their home-state licence and Arizona registration details. Ask the relevant Arizona board to confirm what allows them to treat you where you will be sitting.
Read the evidence
Ask what happens during the visit
Informed consent means agreeing to care after it has been explained. As of October 3, 2026, Arizona generally requires this agreement before telehealth, with limited exceptions.
If you agree out loud, the clinician must put that agreement in your care notes under that rule.
Have your medicine names and health questions nearby. Explain what you hope to change and what is already being treated.
Arizona requires clinicians to decide whether care at a distance suits your needs, as of October 3, 2026. This includes your symptoms, health history and whether a physical check needs to happen in person. The clinician must choose a useful way to communicate.
A form can begin the conversation
Medical boards belong to a group called the Federation of State Medical Boards. Its guidance tells clinicians how the group thinks care ought to be provided. It is advice about care, not Arizona law.
The group's guidance adopted in May 2026 says a menu selection by itself falls short of an adequate assessment.
The guidance also calls for a way for patients to put further questions to their clinician.
Ask who reads your answers and how that person can come back to you with questions.
Read the evidence
Plan for tests and care in person
The group's online-care guidance calls on clinicians to arrange the tests you need or refer you to a person who can carry them out. This includes a visit in person when a physical check is needed. The guidance itself is not Arizona law.
Ask where any tests would happen, how you get results and who handles problems between visits. Ask what happens if the next visit needs to be in a room.