Online prescription in Puerto Rico: the doctor evaluates you by video and decides

It isn't a form you fill out to get a pill mailed to you. It's a real doctor's visit, by video, with Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD, a Puerto Rico-licensed general practice physician with several years of emergency-department experience. She sees you in English or Spanish.

The doctor asks what's going on, since when, what you take and what you're allergic to, and has you show her what matters on camera. Then she decides whether you need a medicine, which one fits, or whether something else is better: care at home, a lab order or an in-person visit.

If appropriate, the doctor prescribes and we send your prescription to your pharmacy. If not, she explains why and what to do instead. For example, colds, flu and most sore throats are viral, and the CDC reminds us that antibiotics don't work on viruses. Read more in can telehealth prescribe antibiotics?.

You pay for the visit, not the prescription: the price is the same with or without a medicine.

Request a visit online 24/7 — we confirm your time by email or text.

• A new medicine: a US$79 doctor visit, the same price for every age, with no membership.
• A refill of a medicine you already take: a US$49 follow-up visit, even if another doctor prescribed it. See prescription refills.

If you book a refill and the doctor finds you need a new medicine or a full evaluation, she explains why and, only with your consent, you pay the difference. You pay the pharmacy for the medicine. We don't bill insurance, but your pharmacy benefit may still cover the medicine; ask at the counter.

It always depends on the evaluation. These are the kinds of medicines most often used for what we treat by video:

• Antibiotics, only when the evaluation points to a bacterial infection, such as many UTIs or strep throat.
• Antivirals, in some cases of flu, cold sores or shingles.
• Antifungals for yeast infections, athlete's foot or fungal skin infections.
• Allergy medicines: antihistamines, nasal sprays and eye drops.
• Skin creams and treatments for eczema, acne or bites that get worse.
• Stomach medicines for heartburn, reflux or nausea.
• Inhalers for asthma.
• Maintenance medicines for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes or thyroid conditions. See chronic care.
• Birth control, including emergency contraception. See birth control online.

We do not prescribe controlled substances at any kind of visit: for example, opioid pain medicines, benzodiazepines for anxiety or sleep, or ADHD stimulants. If you take one of these, keep getting it from the doctor who prescribes it.

Tell the doctor the name and town of the pharmacy where you want to pick it up, and call ahead to check they have it. Ask about the generic, too: according to the FDA, a generic has the same active ingredient, strength and dosage form as the brand-name medicine, and it usually costs less.

Watch the hours: at many pharmacies the store stays open longer than the pharmacy counter. If you need a medicine at night, see 24-hour pharmacies in Puerto Rico.

Traveling and left your medicine at home or lost it? See what to do about a lost prescription in Puerto Rico.

We see adults and children of all ages. In Puerto Rico the age of majority is 21, so for a patient 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. That includes 18- to 20-year-olds. If the medicine is for a child, have their recent weight ready.

If you have chest pain, trouble breathing, or swelling of the face or throat after a medicine, call 911. If someone took too much of a medicine or the wrong one, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

Book a visit and choose Doctor visit (US$79) for a new problem, or Follow-up visit (US$49) for a refill of a medicine you already take. Have your allergies, your medication list and your pharmacy's name ready.