Online or in the room: ask how care works

Where to begin looking

If you have a usual doctor, call the office and ask whether you can book a visit to discuss semaglutide. If the office does not offer that care, ask where you could book a medical visit.

Consider the kinds of care you can approach: an in-person medical visit or a licensed telehealth service. Telehealth is a visit or exchange with a clinician over a screen, phone or online system.

Ask each service how the first assessment happens. Ask who reviews your information and how you can speak with that person.

As of September 26, 2026, there was no general federal rule requiring an in-person visit before a prescription for a non-controlled medicine such as semaglutide.

Non-controlled means the medicine is outside the federal drug lists that carry extra prescribing limits. State rules and the care needed for your situation still apply.

An online form is a beginning

As of September 26, 2026, medical board advice allowed some first visits through online messages or forms. The clinician still had to assess the patient as carefully as their situation required.

That advice says a set of tick-box answers alone is not enough to decide treatment. The clinician needs to gather the health information your care requires and be able to ask further questions.

Find out who reviews the answers you submit and how they can ask you further questions. Ask whether you need a phone call, video visit or in-person exam. A form by itself cannot tell you that.

The Federation of State Medical Boards publishes this guidance. It advises state boards; it does not set a single national law.

State rules for remote prescribing differ, including how they treat forms and phone calls.

Ask what happens if the screen is not enough

Reading for this question

• Medical board guidance on telehealth

  Read the sections about checking your health and arranging later care. These are recommendations for state medical boards; the rules in your state decide what is allowed.