Telehealth brief
An online visit still needs an assessment.
Convenience is useful. Ask whether the visit can answer your health question, and what happens if it cannot.
Find out what kind of visit is offered
Telehealth means remote care. Find out if you will talk in real time or submit information that gets reviewed later.
As of October 6, 2026, Arizona allowed phone-only care in certain cases where video was not reasonably available. This can include difficulty using video, missing equipment or limits in phone or internet service.
The treating health professional decides whether these conditions apply. If using video is hard, ask if care by phone would meet your needs within this rule.
Understand what you are agreeing to
When you agree to care after hearing its explanation, that agreement is called informed consent.
Under the rule checked on October 3, 2026, Arizona usually requires consent before telehealth, with limited exceptions.
If you agree by speaking, the health professional must document your agreement in your medical record. “Recorded” here means noting your consent in that record. The usual rules protecting your private health information still apply.
Request instructions for obtaining your own copy of the visit record.
Remote does not mean automatic prescribing
Arizona’s rule checked October 3, 2026, allows some remote prescriptions without a prior examination in person.
A proper examination still matters. The health professional must stay within what their licence allows and follow state and federal rules for the drug.
Remote care does not guarantee that a particular medicine can be prescribed that way.
A menu choice cannot replace care
The Federation of State Medical Boards says care requires more than selecting a drug on a website menu. These boards oversee doctors. They adopted the advice in May 2026; it was checked on September 26, 2026.
These medical boards also advise that patients need a way to ask questions after the visit.
State boards can use this advice when setting their standards. The advice itself does not make an Arizona legal requirement; the state’s laws still govern your visit.
Ask who reviews your answers and whether that person can ask you more.