[Skip to the briefing](#main) [Peptide Clinic Comparison A guide to care](/) [All briefings](#directory) Further reading # The source file: read and check Choose the record that answers your question. Fact file: September 26, 2026. In brief In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) handles the review of medicines. Use the right record for the question at hand. Check the drug, the person and the pharmacy in their own records. Prices and rules can change. Read the terms that apply now before making a choice. A compounded medicine is made for a particular order instead of being supplied as the manufacturer’s finished drug. ## Medicine status - [FDA: what “approved” means](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/it-really-fda-approved) Check what the agency has reviewed and what a badge means. - [FDA: drug approval files](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/) Search for a drug and its approval file. ## Made-to-order preparations - [FDA: drugs made to order](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers) Read how drugs are made to order and who checks the process. - [FDA: concerns with drugs made to order](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/understanding-risks-compounded-drugs) Read what can go wrong and which checks happen before use. ## Weight-care copies - [FDA: shortages and copies](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize) Check the dated record of shortages and the rules for copies. - [FDA: unapproved drugs for weight care](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss) Read about false claims, poor products and checks to make. ## Assessment and tests - [Board group: care by screen](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/fsmb-workgroup-on-telemedicineapril-2022-final.pdf) Read suggested standards for online visits and for arranging care elsewhere. States can use this advice when setting their rules; the advice is not itself a law. - [Board group: when a drug is offered](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/guidance-on-recent-trends-in-prescribing-and-dispensing-adopted.pdf) Read why choosing a treatment from an online list is not enough on its own, and why patients need to be able to ask questions. ## Records for the person treating you - [Find your state’s medical board](https://www.fsmb.org/contact-a-state-medical-board/) Follow this list from the Federation of State Medical Boards to the board that holds the doctor’s record. - [Read what a board record shows](https://www.fsmb.org/u.s.-medical-regulatory-trends-and-actions/guide-to-medical-regulation-in-the-united-states/information-for-consumers/) Learn what you can check and what a clean record does not prove. ## Pharmacy records - [FDA: check a pharmacy licence](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/locate-state-licensed-online-pharmacy) Choose your state, then search for the pharmacy by name. - [FDA: registered makers of medicine batches](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/registered-outsourcing-facilities) Ask whether your maker is a 503B outsourcing facility: a maker registered with FDA to prepare medicine batches for hospitals and clinics. This list covers those makers; it is not a list of every pharmacy. ## Help after a drug arrives - [FDA: checking an online pharmacy](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/considering-online-pharmacy) Read which checks to make and whom you can reach for help. ## The full bill - [CMS: Medicare’s short-term weight-care plan](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coverage/prescription-drug-coverage/medicare-glp-1-bridge) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sets out who can use the plan and how payment works. ## Price terms - [Government price file: semaglutide (Ozempic)](https://trumprx.gov/p/ozempic) Read who can use the offer, how long it lasts and the price after the opening period. ## Terms for cover - [CMS: who and what is included](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coverage/prescription-drug-coverage/medicare-glp-1-bridge/information-providers) Read the full terms with the prescriber. A headline copay is not a promise that you qualify. - [CMS: how Bridge medicine payments work](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coverage/prescription-drug-coverage/medicare-glp-1-bridge/information-part-d-plans) Read how the temporary Medicare GLP-1 Bridge pays for medicine outside ordinary Part D insurance, and what your drug plan needs to check. - [CMS: BALANCE and state Medicaid medicine costs](https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/balance) BALANCE is an optional programme for states to arrange negotiated medicine prices and coverage terms. Ask your state Medicaid programme whether it has joined and what it covers for you. ## Checking an offer - [FDA: claims about drugs made to order](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-telehealth-companies-what-know-when-promoting-compounded-drugs) Read which claims FDA says can mislead. - [Trade commission: how scammers ask for payment](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/07/way-spot-scams-how-someone-asks-you-pay) Read why it matters when a seller will only accept certain ways to pay. ## Help and reports - [MedlinePlus: a severe allergy](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000844.htm) Read the signs of a severe reaction and when to seek urgent help. - [FDA MedWatch: report a problem](https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-fda-safety-information-and-adverse-event-reporting-program) Use this route to send FDA a report about a drug problem. ## State rules - [Idaho: rules for a drug order](https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title54/T54CH17/SECT54-1733/) Read Idaho’s rule on using a fixed online questionnaire as the sole basis for treatment. - [California: rules for an exam](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2242) Read when an online form can be used for an examination and the care the law still requires. ## Read the records - [FDA: drug identification numbers (NDC)](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/national-drug-code-directory) National Drug Code, abbreviated NDC, is a number identifying a product within a drug listing. A number on this list does not prove FDA approval. - [FDA: notes on drug-problem reports](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fda-adverse-event-monitoring-system-aems/fda-adverse-event-monitoring-system-aems-public-dashboard) Read why a report cannot prove cause or show how often a problem happens. - [FDA: raw ingredients for drugs made to order](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/bulk-drug-substances-used-compounding-under-section-503a-fdc-act) Read how the ingredient list is drawn up and which steps change it. ## Keep the source with the question Keep the page and the date you read it. Ask the person treating you, pharmacist or plan how that record applies to your choice. If the record leaves a question open, ask it again. A gap does not back up a bold claim. [Read next Return to the start page: Start with the care](/) ## Find the next answer. [Back to the top ↑](#top) ### Get your bearings - [Start with the care](/) - [The types of product](/at-a-glance/) - [Online or in person](/briefing/) - [Is the treatment legitimate?](/answers/) - [Made-to-order medicines](/briefing/compounding/) - [Weight-care copies](/briefing/weight-care/) ### Check the care - [Prepare for the visit](/question-brief/) - [Look up the person’s licence](/question-brief/licence/) - [Check the pharmacy](/question-brief/pharmacy/) - [Tests and examinations](/question-brief/tests/) - [Care after the visit](/question-brief/follow-up/) ### Understand the bill - [The full bill](/cost-brief/) - [Read a price tag](/cost-brief/price-tags/) - [Insurance questions](/coverage-brief/) ### Read and verify - [Promises to pause over](/risk-brief/) - [A plan for problems](/safety-brief/) - [Why location matters](/briefing/state-rules/) - [What backs up a claim?](/evidence-brief/) - [The source file](/source-file/) This guide helps readers compare care, with no clinic operations or treatment sales of its own. [Read this page as text](/source-file/index.md) [Further reading](/source-file/)