Straight answers.

No. The directory is public. Adults create an account only to contact a mentor.

Two ways. Request a conversation, which takes place on Health Mentors if the mentor accepts; or send a one-time email introduction, after which any reply continues over regular email. Either way, you can only contact mentors who are open to new mentees.

The mentor sees your name and your intro — not your email address — and decides whether to accept. If they accept, you message each other on Health Mentors, and we email you when a new message is waiting (you can turn those emails off in your profile). A request with no answer closes after 14 days, and you can then send it again; a declined request is final.

The mentor receives your message, your email address, and a link to your private profile. If they reply, it goes straight to your inbox, and the conversation continues over regular email. Health Mentors does not host or monitor what happens next. You can send up to three introductions in 24 hours, and one per mentor per week.

No. Messages are text only, up to 2,000 characters, and can't be edited or deleted after you send them. Please don't share personal medical information.

Use End to close it for good — the other person can't contact you there again — or Report, which also ends it and alerts our staff. In immediate danger, call 911.

No—it suggests a starting direction and a few mentors to consider. It never decides for you or limits who you can contact. If you're signed in, your results are saved to your account so you can return to them (see our Privacy notice).

No. We email you when a student requests a conversation, and you accept or decline on Health Mentors; your email address is never shown to them. A student can also send you a one-time email introduction, which arrives in your inbox with their email address — you decide whether to reply.

A manual LinkedIn review for everyone and a public NPI review for physicians or others who provide one.

No. Health Mentors does not perform background checks in this MVP.

Yes. Turn off Open to new mentees at any time; it stops new conversation requests and introductions. You can also decline any request, and end any conversation.

Messages stay on Health Mentors and are visible only to the two of you. We don't monitor conversations in real time; staff read one only if one of you reports it, and every time they do is recorded in a staff access log. The person a report is about isn't told that it was reported or by whom — only that the conversation ended. Notification emails never include message text. Email you exchange after an introduction isn't on Health Mentors at all: we don't host or monitor it.

A conversation and its messages are erased one year after it ends (closed, declined, or expired). A reported conversation is kept until one year after the report is resolved. See the Privacy notice for the full schedule.

The mentee, staff, and a mentor who received an email introduction from that mentee.

No. The current MVP is limited to adults age 18 and older in the United States.