Health guides for Puerto Rico

These guides explain health paperwork and decisions in Puerto Rico: what the telemedicine law says, who can issue the certificado de salud and other medical certificates, how to see a doctor without insurance, the warning signs of dengue, and getting care as a visitor. Each guide cites official sources and says what we can and can't do by video.

• Puerto Rico telemedicine law

  Puerto Rico telemedicine law in plain English: Law 168-2018, what Law 8-2025 changed, written consent, and why the patient must be in Puerto Rico.

• Puerto Rico health certificate

  Puerto Rico health certificate (certificado de salud) requirements: a medical exam, TB skin test and VDRL at an authorized office. Why it is not issued online.

• Antibiotics by telehealth

  When telehealth can prescribe antibiotics in Puerto Rico, why they don't work on viruses and when you need an in-person test. US$79 video visit.

• Medical certificates in Puerto Rico

  Doctor's note, certificado de salud, DTOP-DIS-260, school forms, premarital: what each medical certificate in Puerto Rico is and who issues it.

• Doctor without insurance

  How to see a doctor without insurance in Puerto Rico: community health centers, CDTs, hospital ERs, Medicaid and US$79 self-pay video visits.

• Dengue warning signs

  Dengue symptoms, the warning signs that mean going to the emergency room, which medicines to avoid, and recent dengue figures for Puerto Rico.

• Verify a doctor's license

  Step by step: verify a doctor's license in Puerto Rico on the medical board's lookup, then check their NPI in the federal NPPES registry.

• Sick on vacation in Puerto Rico

  Sick on vacation in Puerto Rico? See a PR-licensed doctor by video from your hotel for US$79. Plus the ER hotels use, late pharmacies and dengue.

• ER vs urgent care vs telehealth

  ER vs urgent care in San Juan: how to choose between the ER, a CDT, urgent care or a US$79 video visit, with verified emergency rooms in the metro area.

• Driver's license medical certificate

  Puerto Rico's driver's license medical certificate (DTOP-DIS-260) requires an in-person exam by a doctor. What it covers and why telehealth can't do it.

• Medications and hurricanes

  Medications for a hurricane in Puerto Rico: your medication list, US$79 video refills, insulin without a fridge, and what to do if you run out.

• Prepare your child for a video visit

  How to prepare your child for a video visit in Puerto Rico: what to have ready, checking fever and breathing, what to show on camera. From 6 months, US$79.

• School health forms in Puerto Rico

  Puerto Rico school health forms: the PVAC-3 vaccination form, oral exam certificate, physicals, certificado de salud and absence notes, and who issues each.

• US insurance and Medicare in Puerto Rico

  Does Medicare or your US health insurance work in Puerto Rico? Medicare treats Puerto Rico as part of the US. What to ask your plan and how we are paid.

• Lost or forgotten prescription

  Lost your prescription or forgot your meds in Puerto Rico? How to ask a pharmacy for a transfer, and when a US$79 video visit with a PR-licensed doctor helps.

• Cruise passenger doctor, San Juan

  Cruise passenger sick in San Juan? Ship clinic, the ER, or a US$79 video visit while your ship is docked in Puerto Rico: how to choose, plus seasickness tips.

• Jellyfish sting

  What to do for a jellyfish or Portuguese man o' war sting in Puerto Rico: first aid from MedlinePlus, what not to do, and when to get help right away.

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