Bring the
awkward questions.

Let the person explaining care do the explaining. Leave with a clear answer to what happens next and what it costs.

Settle these before paying

“Am I paying for a visit or a prescription?”

Ask what the fee covers if the visit ends without a prescription. Get the answer before you agree to the charge.

“Who actually makes the medicine?”

For someone buying made-to-order medicine online, the maker’s identity may be unclear, as the Food and Drug Administration’s guidance on making medicine to order points out.

Ask for the full name of whoever makes the medicine and of the pharmacy that supplies it to you. Ask whether these are the same business.

Open the doctor and pharmacy license checks. Follow the links to the state offices that oversee doctors and pharmacies, then search their records using the full names you were given.

“Why am I being offered tests?”

Ask what each test is meant to help the person treating you decide. Ask who will discuss the results and whether repeat tests carry a new charge.

“What if I change my mind?”

Read the terms for ending care, stopping renewal and getting a refund. Ask what happens to any money paid in advance.

For the care conversation

The questions to take along

Tick a box when you have an answer. The print button opens your browser’s print window; the browser’s own print command works too.

Write down the proposed drug, alongside the goal of care.
Ask about alternatives and the reason for this choice.
Write down two names: who will prescribe, and which pharmacy will supply your medicine.
Use the doctor and pharmacy license searches linked in “Check the care” below to look up those names.
Get a total split into visits, medicine, tests, delivery and ongoing fees.
Ask for the next bill after any starting offer ends.
Find out who explains test results and answers questions between visits.
Read the renewal, cancellation and refund terms before paying.

Still unclear? “Please write down what I will pay, who I am paying and what happens next.”