Seeing Dr. Lewis by Telehealth: Where You Must Be, and Options if You Live Elsewhere

For a telehealth visit, what usually counts is where you are physically located at the time of the visit, not where you live or where the clinician sits. Dr. Lewis sees patients in person in Brooklyn and by telehealth for patients who are physically located in a state where she holds an active medical license, and the team confirms eligibility for your state before your first visit. A patient-doctor relationship is established only for New York, New Jersey and California residents.

If you live elsewhere, you still have two options with the practice: the Health Strategy Session as an educational consultation, with guidance and referrals in your area, and the online course, which requires no New York residency or patient relationship. This article explains the rules behind those limits, what they mean when you travel, and what is happening with federal rules on prescribing controlled medications by telehealth.

Why the patient's location decides the rules

Medical licenses are issued by states, and the legal location of a telehealth visit is generally the patient's location. New York's own telepractice guidance puts it plainly: a practitioner must hold a New York license when providing services to a patient located in New York, and the client's location may dictate the states in which a practitioner must be licensed.

New York's licensing guidance takes the same approach. Guidance from the New York State Education Department states that a practitioner must hold a New York license, or be otherwise authorized to practice, when providing professional services to a patient located in New York or when the practitioner is located in New York. The guidance is written for psychologists, but it shows how the state thinks about telepractice.

The practical consequence is simple. A clinician licensed only in New York generally cannot treat you by video while you are sitting in a state where they hold no license, even if you are a New York resident.

How New Jersey and California state the rule

The other two states where the practice establishes a patient-doctor relationship say much the same thing in their own words. New Jersey's telehealth law requires any health care provider who uses telemedicine to be validly licensed, certified or registered to provide those services in New Jersey, and to remain subject to the state's licensing board and jurisdiction. The Medical Board of California states that physicians using telehealth to provide care to patients located in California must be licensed in California.

Why there is no single national license

People often assume a doctor's license travels with them. It does not. An interstate compact for physicians (the IMLC), which only some states have joined, offers physicians a voluntary, expedited pathway to licensure in those states, but the licenses are still issued by each individual state, and there is no "Compact license" or national medical license. The compact's commission also confirms the basic principle: the location of medical practice is the state where the patient is located.

So the useful question for any telehealth clinician is not "Are you licensed?" but "Are you licensed in the state where I will be sitting?" You can check the answer yourself on each state's licensing board website; how to check a psychiatrist's license and board certification walks through it.

What this means for Dr. Lewis's patients

The practice handles this in two ways. First, the team confirms eligibility for your state before your first visit. Second, it limits the clinical relationship: in the practice's words, the patient-doctor relationship is established only for New York, New Jersey and California residents.

Each of those states has its own page with local details: psychiatry services in New York, integrative psychiatry in New Jersey and California telehealth psychiatry. The practice's articles on telehealth psychiatry in New Jersey and integrative psychiatry by telehealth in California describe what those visits are like.

Traveling, college and second homes

Because location at the time of the visit is what counts, ordinary life can create problems. These are the situations that most often catch people out:

• Vacations and work trips. A video visit taken from a hotel in another state is, legally, a visit in that state. If you know you will be away, raise it with the team before the appointment rather than logging in from wherever you happen to be.
• College students. A student whose family lives in New York but who attends school elsewhere may spend most of the year outside an eligible state. Plan visits around breaks, or arrange local care near campus.
• Second homes and seasonal moves. If you split the year between states, the months you spend outside an eligible state matter for scheduling.
• Moving away. If you are relocating permanently, start looking for a clinician licensed in your new state before you leave, so there is no gap.

None of this is a reason to hide your location. Your clinician needs to know it, and an honest answer protects both you and your care. If a move will interrupt prescriptions, switching psychiatrists without a gap in your prescriptions explains how to sequence the handover.

Students face these rules more than anyone, because the academic year is spent in one state and breaks in another. Mental health care for college students compares campus services, care at home and telehealth, including how to keep one prescriber across the year.

Moving into or out of New York, New Jersey or California

A move changes more than your address. If you are moving into one of the three states, tell the team your move date so it can confirm eligibility for your state before your first visit. If you are moving out, start the search for a clinician licensed in your new state early, request copies of your records, and ask your current prescriber how to bridge prescriptions until the new clinician has seen you. Requesting your mental health records explains how long a provider has to respond and how to word the request.

Controlled medications by telehealth: where the rules stand in October 2026

A second, federal layer applies to controlled substances such as stimulants for ADHD and benzodiazepines. Under the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, a practitioner may, subject to certain exceptions, prescribe controlled substances remotely only after conducting at least one in-person medical evaluation of the patient. Once that in-person evaluation has happened, those specific remote-prescribing requirements no longer apply to that practitioner-patient relationship.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the DEA granted temporary exceptions, known as the telemedicine flexibilities, that allowed practitioners to prescribe Schedule II to V controlled medications through audio-video telemedicine without a prior in-person visit. The most recent extension of those flexibilities, the fourth temporary extension issued jointly by the DEA and HHS, runs through December 31, 2026.

What happens after that is not settled. The DEA proposed a permanent framework of special registrations for telemedicine in January 2025. As of late October 2026, the Federal Register showed no final version of that rule and no further extension of the flexibilities. The rules for 2027 could change before the end of the year, so treat any firm prediction with caution.

If you take, or may need, a controlled medication, ask the team how current rules apply to you. State rules also apply on top of federal ones, and the practice's prescribers will advise on what is required in your situation. You can read the extension itself in the Federal Register notice of the fourth temporary extension.

State rules on top of federal ones: New Jersey's 2026 law

States can add their own requirements, and New Jersey did so in 2026. A law approved on July 8, 2026 and effective immediately amended the state's telehealth statute to address Schedule II controlled substances. As a general rule, it allows Schedule II prescriptions through telehealth only after an initial in-person examination, with an in-person visit every three months while the prescription continues.

The law sets a separate path for stimulants prescribed to adults, such as many ADHD medications. The initial examination may be in person or by telehealth; if it is by telehealth, an in-person visit is required within 30 days. After that, an in-person or telehealth contact is required every three months, and an in-person visit at least once a year. For patients under 18, the in-person requirements can be waived for a Schedule II stimulant with written consent from a parent or guardian, and any Schedule II prescription by telehealth must use real-time audio and video. The law refers to implementing regulations, so details may still be refined.

New York adds a different layer. Before prescribing any Schedule II, III or IV controlled substance, every New York practitioner must consult the state's prescription monitoring program registry, with limited exceptions. If you are in New Jersey and take a stimulant, or expect to, ask the team early how the in-person requirements will be met.

Prescriptions and refills when you are on the move

Controlled medications have practical rules that matter more when you travel. Under federal regulations, a prescription for a Schedule II substance cannot be refilled. A prescriber may issue several Schedule II prescriptions at once covering up to a 90-day supply, each marked with the earliest date it can be filled, but only where the prescriber judges it safe and state law allows it. Plan pharmacy timing before a trip rather than during it, and see what to do if your pharmacy is out of an ADHD medication if supply is the problem.

Planning ahead if you take a controlled medication

Because the federal flexibilities currently run only through December 31, 2026, anyone who receives a controlled medication by telehealth benefits from a little planning now. None of these steps requires predicting what the DEA will do.

1. Know whether your medication is a controlled substance, and its schedule. Your pharmacist can tell you.
2. Ask your prescriber whether you have already had an in-person evaluation that counts for your relationship, and when.
3. If you are in New Jersey and take a Schedule II stimulant, ask how the state's in-person visit schedule applies to you.
4. Keep at least one refill cycle of margin before travel, a move or the end of the year.
5. Ask what the fallback is if federal rules change in January, such as an in-person visit or a local prescriber.

For a broader view of when video visits work as well as office visits and when they do not, see telehealth vs in-person psychiatry.

If you live outside New York, New Jersey or California

The practice is direct about this. The strategy session is educational for out-of-state residents; Dr. Lewis can provide guidance and referrals in your area if you need clinical care, and for out of state she does not diagnose or treat disease. That can still be useful if you want an integrative psychiatrist's perspective before choosing a local clinician. What happens in the Health Strategy Session explains how to prepare.

The online course is the other route. Dr. Lewis's self-guided Integrative Psychiatry and Functional Medicine course offers lifetime access, and a second option adds weekly virtual group coaching calls with Dr. Lewis; no New York residency or patient relationship is required. It is an educational course and does not provide diagnosis, individual medical advice, medication management or emergency psychiatric care. The comparison of starting points shows how it fits beside the clinical options.

For ongoing treatment, you will need a clinician licensed in your state. A few steps help:

1. Check the clinician's license on your state's licensing board website before booking.
2. Ask whether they offer telehealth within your state, if travel to an office is hard.
3. Ask how they handle medication history and records from previous prescribers.
4. Bring a complete history; how to prepare your medication history includes a template.

What an educational consultation can and cannot include

For readers outside the three states, the difference between education and treatment is the core of the arrangement, so it helps to see it laid out.

An educational session works best when you arrive with a clear question, such as which kinds of clinicians to look for locally, which tests are worth discussing with them, or how to describe your history. It is not the place to get a new prescription or a diagnosis, and it is not a substitute for a local clinician if your symptoms are severe.

Questions to ask any telehealth psychiatrist

With this practice or any other, a few direct questions before the first visit prevent most telehealth surprises:

• Which states are you licensed in, and will you confirm my location at each visit?
• What happens if I am traveling on the day of an appointment?
• Do you prescribe controlled medications by telehealth, and what will change if the federal flexibilities end on December 31, 2026?
• Will I ever need an in-person visit, and where would it take place?
• Which pharmacy should I use, and can prescriptions be sent to a pharmacy near where I will be?
• What should I do between visits if symptoms get worse?

A clinician who answers these clearly, including "I don't know yet" about 2027 rules, is usually a safer bet than one who promises that nothing will change. If you are starting with Dr. Lewis's practice, the free discovery call is the place to raise them; the steps that follow are in how to start care with Dr. Lewis.

Common telehealth location mistakes

• Joining from the airport, a hotel or a relative's home in another state without telling anyone first.
• Assuming that a New York address on file settles the question; what counts is where you are during the visit.
• Booking an out-of-state educational session expecting a prescription at the end of it.
• Waiting until the last pill to ask about a refill before a trip.
• Moving permanently and planning to "keep the same doctor by video" without checking that doctor's licenses in the new state.

Telehealth, insurance and paperwork

Licensing is not the only thing that can depend on location. Some insurance plans reimburse out-of-network telehealth differently from office visits, or ask where you were when the service was delivered. Dr. Lewis and all of the practice's practitioners are out of network with all insurance plans, and payment is due at the time of service. The practice provides a superbill you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement, and for BCBS, Aetna or Cigna plans it can facilitate submitting the claim for you.

Before your first video visit, add two questions to your insurer call: whether out-of-network telehealth visits are reimbursed the same way as in-person visits, and whether it matters which state you are in during the visit. The out-of-network benefits call script includes both, along with the practice's own four questions.

Getting a telehealth visit right

Once eligibility is confirmed, a few habits make telehealth work as well as an office visit:

• Join from a private room where you can speak freely.
• Use a stable connection and test your camera and audio beforehand.
• Have your medication list, pharmacy details and questions in front of you.
• Know the address you are joining from, in case the clinician needs it for safety.

A fuller pre-visit list, including privacy settings and what to have on screen, is in the telehealth psychiatry visit checklist.

Telehealth is not an emergency service, wherever you are. If you are thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988 (the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to the nearest emergency room. The practice's page on online psychiatry and mental health care covers its telehealth services, and the wider guide to choosing psychiatric care covers options beyond this practice.

Frequently asked questions

I live in New York but will be on vacation in another state. Can I keep my video appointment?

Possibly not. Eligibility depends on where you are physically located during the visit. Tell the team before the appointment so they can advise.

Can Dr. Lewis prescribe for me if I live in another state?

No. For residents of states other than New York, New Jersey and California, the strategy session is educational only, and Dr. Lewis does not diagnose or treat. She can offer guidance and referrals in your area.

Will I need an in-person visit to get a controlled medication by telehealth?

Under the federal telemedicine flexibilities, which currently run through December 31, 2026, a DEA-registered practitioner may prescribe Schedule II to V medications through an audio-video visit without a prior in-person evaluation, as long as the prescription otherwise meets federal and state requirements and the prescriber judges it appropriate. Rules for 2027 are not final. Ask the team how current rules apply to you.

Does the online course count as treatment?

No. It is an educational course and does not provide diagnosis, individual medical advice, medication management or emergency psychiatric care.

Can I do my visits from my car?

A private, quiet room is better. Wherever you join from, you must be physically located in an eligible state, and you should know the address in case it is needed for safety.

I live in New Jersey. Do I ever need to come to Brooklyn in person?

It depends on your care. New Jersey's 2026 telehealth law adds in-person visit requirements for some Schedule II prescriptions, including stimulants for adults. For most other care, ask the team what applies to you when eligibility is confirmed.

Does the interstate physician licensing compact (IMLC) let a doctor treat patients in every state?

No. The compact is an expedited way for physicians to apply for licenses in the states that have joined it, but each license is still issued by an individual state. A physician still needs a license in the state where the patient is located.

Can my prescriber send a prescription to a pharmacy where I am traveling?

Often, but not always, and controlled medications have extra rules. Schedule II prescriptions cannot be refilled, so ask your prescriber and pharmacist well before you travel.

Sources

1. NYS Psychology: Practice Alerts & Guidelines: Telepractice. New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions, 2026. op.nysed.gov
2. Fourth Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications (FR Doc. 2025-24123). Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Register, 2025. federalregister.gov
3. Special Registrations for Telemedicine and Limited State Telemedicine Registrations (proposed rule, FR Doc. 2025-01099). Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Register, 2025. federalregister.gov
4. Telehealth. Medical Board of California, 2026. mbc.ca.gov
5. P.L. 2026, c.40 (A4852 ACS): An Act concerning telemedicine, telehealth, and Schedule II controlled dangerous substances, amending P.L.2017, c.117 (C.45:1-62). New Jersey Legislature, 2026. pub.njleg.gov
6. FAQ. IMLCC (interstate medical licensing compact commission), 2026. imlcc.com
7. New York Public Health Law § 3343-A: Prescription monitoring program registry. New York State Senate (Open Legislation), 2026. nysenate.gov
8. 21 CFR 1306.12: Refilling prescriptions; issuance of multiple prescriptions. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (DEA), 2026. ecfr.gov

Educational information, not medical, tax or legal advice. Decisions about diagnosis, medication and treatment belong with a clinician who knows your history.