Care continues
Spot a shortcut before paying
Read what the offer leaves out as carefully as what it promises.
Product and prescribing rules as of September 26, 2026.
No prescription is a clear problem
Handing over a prescription medicine without the required prescription breaks federal law. A prescription is an order for medicine; it must come from a health professional, including a doctor, legally allowed to prescribe that product.
For advice about care, state medical boards can turn to their national organisation, the Federation of State Medical Boards. It rejects treatment based only on a form that cannot gather enough information about your health. A form that lets the health professional ask more questions can be part of a health review.
This is advice for state medical boards to use when making rules. Each state sets its own rules. Ask who reviews your answers and how that person can ask more questions.
Check the approval claim
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, does not approve compounded medicines. Compounded means mixed or made to order.
Generic status means the medicine was approved as a brand-name product's copy. Calling a compounded medicine an approved generic, or claiming benefits proven to equal those of an approved product, is misleading according to FDA.
Weight-loss products bearing research labels but sold for people to use also carry an FDA warning against their use. Their contents and quality are not a substitute for an approved medicine.
Look for answers after the sale
FDA's online weight-care checklist flags missing later access to a licensed doctor, damaged packaging, and incorrect pharmacy details.
A very low price is another FDA signal to consider alongside other checks. Price alone, however low, cannot establish that an offer is a scam.
Put the unanswered questions together: the health review, whether the medicine is approved, the pharmacy's licence, and help after the visit. Ask for the missing answers before deciding to pay.
Use the question sheet