Notebook entry
The relationship comes first
These Virginia rules were checked in September 2026.
Virginia required the person writing the prescription to get your health and medicine history.
They had to explain the drug’s benefits and risks.
They also had to arrange the right exam and follow-up when needed.
Before filling the prescription, the pharmacist had to be sure that real care of this kind had taken place.
If that was unclear, the pharmacist had to check with the person who wrote it first.
Notebook entry
The first visit can be online
Virginia allowed a first prescribing relationship to begin by live two-way video.
Instead of video, you could send in your health information for the person prescribing to review, but only when all of the state’s conditions were met.
Those conditions included an up-to-date health history, a diagnosis and a Virginia licence for the person prescribing.
The care also had to be as good as an in-person visit, with tests or an exam when those were needed.
Notebook entry
A bare form is not the visit
Virginia Board of Medicine guidance said writing a prescription from nothing more than an online questionnaire fell short of acceptable care.
The same guidance asked the doctor or nurse to confirm where you are and who you are.
It also asked them to tell you their name and what they are licensed and qualified to do, and to get your permission for the care.
Brief source notes
Virginia prescription lawThe state text behind the visit and prescribing checks.
Virginia telemedicine guidanceBoard of Medicine guidance, not a clinic directory.