How do I verify a doctor registration?

Every country has a public regulator register: GMC (UK), NMC (India), CFM (Brazil), MDCN (Nigeria), KMPDC (Kenya), state medical boards (US). Search by name and registration number.

Should the service have a physical registered office?

Yes. A company registration (Companies House in the UK, equivalent in other countries) with a verifiable address is a baseline sign of a legitimate operator.

What regulator should regulate the service itself?

In the UK, telemedicine services must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). In Brazil, with the local CRM. In India, under the NMC framework. Ask where they are regulated as a service, not just as individual doctors.

A compliant platform publishes a data protection policy naming its lawful basis under GDPR (or the equivalent local law), encryption in transit and at rest, and retention periods. Ask for the policy before signing up.

How to Choose a Safe Online Doctor: 7 Checks to Make (2026)

Choosing a safe online doctor is about seven concrete checks that take under five minutes. If a platform passes all seven, you are dealing with a properly regulated service. If it fails even one, walk away — regardless of how polished the website looks.

Globally, medicines regulators including the MHRA (UK), FDA (US), CDSCO (India), Anvisa (Brazil), NAFDAC (Nigeria), and WHO have all warned about the rise of unregulated "online pharmacies" and "virtual clinics" that skip proper consultation and dispense dangerous drugs. The list below is how you avoid them.

1. Is every doctor named and their registration verifiable?

You should be able to see the doctor's full name, qualifications, and regulator registration number on their profile. Open the regulator's website (gmc-uk.org, nmc.org.in, portal.cfm.org.br, mdcnigeria.org, kmpdc.go.ke, or equivalent) and search — the registration should come up with their name and specialty and active status. If the platform will not name its doctors, do not use it.

2. Is a consultation actually required before a prescription?

A safe service requires a video, phone, or structured asynchronous consultation before any prescription. "Fill in a form, get your pills" platforms are operating outside proper medical practice and are dangerous — a prescribing decision without individual clinical judgement is not medicine, it is dispensing.

3. Is the company itself registered and regulated?

In the UK, any private healthcare provider must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) — the CQC ID and latest inspection report should be easily found. In the US, service-level regulation is at state level, and platforms typically state which states they are licensed to serve. In Brazil, the service must align with local CRM rules. Check for a UK Companies House (or equivalent) entry.

4. Is there a clear data protection policy?

GDPR in the EU and UK, LGPD in Brazil, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act in India, the Data Protection Act in Kenya, the NDPR in Nigeria — all require healthcare platforms to publish a privacy policy stating lawful basis, data retention, encryption, and your rights. If the privacy page is missing, generic, or boilerplate, that is a red flag.

5. Are prescriptions dispensed by licensed pharmacies?

If the platform also sells the medication, the dispensing pharmacy should be licensed and named. In the UK, GPhC registration. In the US, state pharmacy licensure. In Nigeria, PCN registration. Avoid any site that ships medication from anonymous addresses or refuses to name its dispensing pharmacy.

6. Is there a complaints pathway?

Regulated services publish how to complain, to whom, and the escalation route to the regulator. GeraClinic's support page, for example, explains the three-tier route: internal team, clinical lead, external regulator. If the website does not explain how to complain, that is a warning.

7. Are clinical safety concerns taken seriously?

Good telemedicine services will decline to treat online when appropriate — they will tell you to go to A&E, to see a doctor in person, or to present to a specialist. A platform that prescribes whatever you ask for, regardless of clinical picture, is dangerous. The willingness to say "this needs an in-person visit" is one of the strongest signs of quality.

How does GeraClinic score on these checks?

GeraClinic doctors are all named with verifiable regulator numbers. Consultations are mandatory before any prescription. The company is registered with CQC in the UK and aligned with local regulators in every market. GDPR and local privacy compliance is published. Dispensing is handled via named, licensed pharmacy partners. A complaints policy is on the support page. Clinical triage includes explicit criteria for in-person escalation.