Ask for answers you can check.

Name the exact medicine

• What is the drug’s own name, beyond a program label?
• Has the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this product, or is it made to order?

The FDA reviews drugs for specific uses.

Compounded means made by a pharmacist, a professional who prepares medicines, or a doctor for a patient’s needs.

A prescription is a medicine order from a health professional with permission to prescribe.

The person writing it is your prescriber.

If it is compounded, ask why

• Which need of mine cannot be met by an approved product?

FDA advice, checked in September 2026, is to use compounding when an approved drug cannot meet the patient’s need.

As of September 2026, federal law limited making copies of medicines already sold when done often or in large amounts.

A copy here is a version made to order of a medicine already on sale.

FDA looks at whether the main drug ingredient is the same, the amount is similar, and it is taken the same way.

A prescriber could write down how a change to the medicine made an important difference for that specific patient.

• How would my medicine change, and what difference would that make for my care?

Paying less is not enough to meet this rule.

Find out who is responsible

• Who will do my assessment, and where can I verify their licence?
• What is the name of the pharmacy that will make or send the medicine?
• Who answers me after the visit?

In information checked in September 2026, the FDA notes that online patients may not know who made their compounded medicine.

Get the follow-up plan before paying

• How do I ask about a problem once the medicine arrives?
• What is the next step if this treatment is not right for me?
• If an in-person examination is needed, what will happen next?

FDA information checked in September 2026 flags services with no doctor available for questions after the medicine arrives.

Ask for the complete bill

• Which costs are separate?
• What changes after any opening offer?
• What will another supply cost, and how do I stop the program?