The checks before paying
Check the doctor, pharmacy and medicine before paying.
Read the quote, then check the doctor’s licence, the pharmacy’s licence and the exact medicine. Make these checks even when the price is low.
Look up the licence behind the name.
Use the state record, rather than a badge on a website.
In the US, the agency that reviews medicines is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A state medical board lists doctors’ licences and public records of action it has taken against them.
The state board of pharmacy has the pharmacy’s licence record; it is a different board from the medical board.
Get the full name of the person doing the visit and the pharmacy that would fill any prescription. Open the relevant state search and match those names.
If an online pharmacy is missing from your state board’s list of licensed pharmacies, do not use it, says FDA guidance checked September 17, 2026.
The listing confirms that the pharmacy is licensed; it offers no proof that all its medicines are suitable or supplied properly.
Approval belongs to a specific medicine.
A licensed service still needs to explain the exact product it proposes.
Compounding is preparing a medicine for an individual order.
As of September 26, 2026, approved US medicines include semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy).
Compounded medicines are not FDA-approved, under the agency’s position checked September 26, 2026. The FDA does not review these medicines before sale to check safety, how well each medicine works, or how well it is made.
US rules checked September 26, 2026 limit how often pharmacies and doctors may make copies of finished medicines that are already available.
The prescriber can decide that a change from the ready-made medicine makes a significant medical difference for a named patient. This can allow that patient’s medicine to be made to order, under rules checked September 26, 2026.
Paying less, by itself, does not satisfy that rule, as checked September 26, 2026.
During a national medicine shortage, pharmacies may be allowed to copy products normally subject to limits, under rules checked September 26, 2026.
On September 26, 2026, the FDA’s national shortage list included neither semaglutide injections nor tirzepatide injections, so neither had that shortage permission.
Some offers leave essential questions unanswered.
Before paying, ask whether a licensed doctor will review your health and write any prescription. Get the pharmacy’s name and a way to reach the doctor later.
A prescription medicine cannot legally be supplied without a valid prescription, under federal rules checked September 26, 2026.
The FDA warns against unapproved weight medicines sold for human use under “research only” labels. These products could cause harm, and their quality is unknown, according to the FDA’s position checked September 26, 2026.
Saying a made-to-order medicine is FDA-approved is false, under the FDA position checked September 26, 2026.
The FDA checklist checked September 26, 2026 treats an inability to reach a licensed doctor with questions once medicine arrives as a warning sign.
The FDA flags prices so low they are hard to believe as a warning sign. A price being low does not, on its own, show that a pharmacy is breaking the rules, under guidance checked September 26, 2026.
If a price surprises you, ask what it includes and check the licences, prescription requirement and way to reach the doctor before paying.
Discuss unwanted effects before deciding.
Ask about the proposed product, not peptides as a whole.
The FDA received reports of harm, including hospital stays, with made-to-order semaglutide injections. These may have involved measuring the wrong amount, according to reports checked September 26, 2026.
Ask the care professional to explain any product instructions and whom to reach with a concern. Ask how pregnancy, plans for pregnancy, other medicines and your health history affect the discussion.