How it works

How telehealth works with us in Puerto Rico

Name: How telehealth works in Puerto Rico, step by step | The Health Initiative
Published: 2026-09-30

Here is how telehealth works with us in Puerto Rico: you choose your visit type and pay online by card; you choose your time when you book; we send you a secure video link; and at the agreed time the doctor evaluates, diagnoses and treats you. If appropriate, she prescribes and we send your prescription to your pharmacy. You must be in Puerto Rico.

$79· Doctor visit$49· Follow-up visit$35· School and university formsSee prices and what each includes

Is it an emergency? Call 911.

Book a visit

An older woman smiling as she uses her phone on the sofa at home

How we care for you

We evaluate, diagnose and treat; if needed, we give you a lab order for a lab near you.
We see adults and children of all ages. Patients under 21: a parent with patria potestad (parental authority) or a legal guardian is on camera for the whole visit and shows photo ID.
Real-time video visit. We send you a secure video link. It works on your phone, tablet or computer.
If appropriate, the doctor prescribes and we send your prescription to your pharmacy.
You must be physically in Puerto Rico during the visit (visitors, tourists and cruise passengers are welcome).
In an emergency, call 911.
Video doctor visits 24/7 — book online and choose your time right away.

What is telemedicine?

Telemedicine is the practice of medicine at a distance: diagnosis, treatment and medical education delivered through technology, as Puerto Rico's Ley 168-2018 defines it. The World Health Organization describes it as the delivery of health-care services over distance. With us, it is a real-time video visit with a doctor licensed in Puerto Rico, from your home, work or hotel.

You can use it through our telehealth in Puerto Rico service.

Telemedicine vs. telehealth: what is the difference?

People use the two words almost interchangeably, but they are not quite the same. Telehealth is the broader term: the use of communication technologies to deliver health services at a distance. Telemedicine is the clinical part: the delivery of clinical services at a distance by health professionals (Puerto Rico Department of Health).

Ley 168-2018 defines only telemedicine. In practice, when you talk to the doctor by video about a health problem, you are using telemedicine, and that is what we offer.

Types of telemedicine

Health services can be delivered at a distance in several ways. The best known are:

Real time (synchronous): the patient and the clinician see or talk to each other live, by video or phone. This is what we use: your visit is in real time, by video or by phone, depending on the service and what the doctor considers appropriate.
Store-and-forward (asynchronous): the patient or a clinician sends information, photos or test results for another clinician to review later.
Remote monitoring: a care team receives readings from devices such as a glucose meter or a blood pressure monitor at a distance.

What is a telehealth visit like?

It is the same conversation you would have in an office, by video: the doctor asks what is going on, since when and what you have taken, looks at you on camera and explains what you have and what to do. If appropriate, she prescribes and we send your prescription to your pharmacy; if needed, she gives you a lab order for a lab near you.

Every day, any time (Puerto Rico time). Request a visit online 24/7 and choose your time right away. See what an online doctor visit covers.

What Puerto Rico law requires

The Telemedicine and Telehealth Act, Ley 168-2018, requires, among other things, that the patient sign a written informed consent before the first visit and that the doctor hold a Puerto Rico license. That is why you must be physically in Puerto Rico during the visit. More in the guide to the telemedicine law.

A mother and her daughter look at a tablet together at home

Who can use the service

We see you if:

You are physically in Puerto Rico during the visit. Residents, visitors, tourists and cruise passengers are welcome.
You are an adult or a child of any age: we see patients of all ages.
If the patient is under 21, a parent with patria potestad (parental authority) or a legal guardian signs the consent, stays on camera for the whole visit and shows photo ID.
It is not an emergency. In an emergency call 911.

Step by step: how telehealth works with us

This is what happens, in order:

On the booking page you choose your visit type, confirm you are eligible and pay on Stripe's secure page. We ask for your email and phone, but no health information.
We contact you by email to confirm the time of your visit.
We send you a secure video link, along with an invitation to complete your details and sign the informed consent. It works on your phone, tablet or computer.
At the agreed time you open the link. At the start, the doctor confirms your identity and where you are in Puerto Rico.
The doctor evaluates, diagnoses and explains the treatment. If appropriate, she prescribes and we send your prescription to your pharmacy; if needed, she gives you a lab order for a lab near you; and if you need one, she gives you a doctor's note.

Before you start

You must be in Puerto Rico during the visit. Visitors are welcome too.
Patients under 21: a parent with patria potestad (parental authority) or a legal guardian signs the written consent, stays on camera for the whole visit and shows photo ID on camera. Visits are not recorded.
In an emergency, call 911.

Which visit type to choose

There are three. A doctor visit is for a new problem, urgent care, children and most everything else. A follow-up visit is for a refill of a medicine you already take (non-controlled) or a review of your lab results. School and university forms covers school or university forms and a medical certificate of an illness the doctor evaluated. If a follow-up or forms visit turns out to need a full doctor visit, the doctor explains why and, with your consent, you pay the difference. See pricing.

Not sure which? Choose this one
Doctor visit
$79
Book for $79
Follow-up visit
$49
Book for $49
School and university forms
$35
Book for $35

What you need for the video visit

Have ready:

A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone.
A stable internet connection. Use wifi if you can.
A private, well-lit place.
Photo ID (the parent's or guardian's if the patient is under 21).
The name and address of your pharmacy.
A list of the medications you take. For a child, a recent weight and a thermometer.

Before your first visit you sign a written consent to receive care by telehealth. It explains how care is delivered, its benefits and limits, the confidentiality risks of the technology, and your right to refuse. Visits are not recorded. Read the informed consent.

How to prepare for your telehealth visit

For adults, a quick list before you join (for a child's visit, read how to prepare your child for a video visit):

Make sure you will be physically in Puerto Rico during the visit.
Find a quiet, private room with good light, and charge your phone or computer.
Have your photo ID and the name and address of your pharmacy.
Write down your symptoms, when they started and what you have already taken.
Have your list of medicines and allergies, or the bottles, at hand.
For a skin problem, take photos in natural light to send through our secure portal.
If you have a form or a lab result, keep it handy.

Prescriptions, lab tests and doctor's notes

If appropriate, the doctor prescribes and we send your prescription to your pharmacy. If you need tests, such as a strep, urine, blood or STI test, she gives you a lab order for a lab near you, and you can then review the results with her in a follow-up visit. A doctor's note after your visit is included. Labs and pharmacies charge separately.

If you need in-person care

With her years in emergency rooms, the doctor knows when something needs to be seen in person. If so, she tells you and points you to where to go. If it is an emergency, call 911; see when to go to the ER.

Is this an emergency?

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room for chest pain, trouble breathing, weakness or numbness on one side of the body, confusion, bleeding that will not stop, or if you think your life is in danger.

Call 911

Help lines

Warning signs: when to go to the ER

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to sign before my first telehealth visit?

A written informed consent to receive care by telehealth, signed before your first visit; it can be electronic. It explains how care is delivered, its benefits and limits, and your right to refuse. If the patient is under 21, a parent with patria potestad (parental authority) or a legal guardian signs it. Read the informed consent; for the legal side, see the Puerto Rico telemedicine law.

Can I do the visit by phone instead of video?

Your visit is by video or by phone, depending on the service and what the doctor considers appropriate. If the patient is under 21, the visit is by video, with a parent or legal guardian on camera. For a phone visit, you call the number we send in your confirmation and enter the PIN; the doctor admits you to the visit.

What happens if the doctor decides I need to be seen in person?

She tells you during the visit and points you to the kind of care to look for. If it is an emergency, she will tell you to call 911 or go to the ER.

How do I join the video visit?

We send you a secure video link. It works on your phone, tablet or computer. At the agreed time, open the link from a private place.

What language is the visit in?

English or Spanish, whichever you prefer. Some online forms are in English only.

Need to see the doctor?