The doctor you already see
A starting point when you want your health history in the conversation.
- Ask who can assess the belly-fat concern.
- Ask how another clinician would share records.
- Ask who would handle follow-up.
Start and compare
Compare ways to seek an assessment
Choose a way to talk that suits the conversation. Use the same questions to compare each route.
Compare the route by what you need to discuss
An in-person clinic
A format to consider when you want to speak in the same room.
- Ask what happens during the visit.
- Ask which tests take place elsewhere.
- Ask about the fee before reserving time.
Licensed telehealth
With telehealth, the care conversation takes place through video, a phone call or messages online.
- Ask whether the visit is live or reviewed later.
- Ask how to raise a question after the visit.
- Ask how local tests or an exam would be arranged.
Ask how the whole assessment will be done
A doctor’s licence and any actions taken against that doctor can be checked in public state medical board records.
State boards share an organisation, the Federation of State Medical Boards, which publishes advice on care delivered over a screen.
Its advice says that care over a screen needs to be as good as care in the same room.
It also calls for tests or a visit in person when they are needed to assess you.
This advice is shared among state boards; it does not create a law in force everywhere.
As of September 2026, states set different rules for remote prescribing.
Ask how the chosen route would cover the whole assessment, including anything that cannot happen during that visit.
Choose the next detail to check
Compare formats over a screenPrepare for a visit in a roomWeighing care for deep belly fat
A convenient format still needs a plan for the parts of care that happen elsewhere.