[Skip to the article](#reading) A reading guide for care decisions [Read the records](/source-notes/) [The Treatment Papers Hormones · Medicines · Care](/) Journal menu + - [Opening paper](/) - [Medicine file](/first-read/) - [Visit file](/visit-notes/) - [The price sheet](/paying-for-care/) - [Offer checks](/watch-for/) - [Questions to carry](/question-desk/) - [Source file](/source-notes/) Record note Source record as of 26 September 2026. # Keep the claim beside its source. Choose a source link below for the claim you want to check. In that source, look for the medicine’s full name, what it is used for and the date; compare those with the offer. You have found a confident claim elsewhere and want to check it. Choose the record that matches the claim, then compare the exact product and use. Jump within this note ↓ - [For a claim of product approval](#approval-record) - [For a claim about a compounded preparation](#compounding-record) - [For checking care given online](#care-record) - [For a quoted medicine price](#money-record) - [Keep the limits attached](#what-evidence-cannot-do) ## For a claim of product approval The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) keeps records of medicine approvals. Peptide means a short chain of amino acids, the small parts also found in proteins. That name alone says nothing about approval. [FDA · medicine approval data](https://api.fda.gov/drug/drugsfda.json) These are technical records. Ask the prescriber to show you the matching medicine name, its approved use and how that kind of medicine is taken. The National Drug Code directory can contain products with no FDA approval. [FDA · the directory’s limits](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/national-drug-code-directory) A product code and an approval answer different questions. ### For a claim about a compounded preparation For a drug made to order by compounding, FDA does not check whether it works, is safe or is made well before it is marketed. [FDA · risks of compounding](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/understanding-risks-compounded-drugs) Read this alongside the explanation of when compounding may meet a patient need. Compounding may meet a patient need that an approved drug cannot fill, or a gap when the approved drug is unavailable. [FDA · compounding answers](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers) A patient’s need does not give a drug made to order FDA approval; the law’s compounding conditions still apply. ## For checking care given online State medical boards can use advice from their federation, the Federation of State Medical Boards. The boards license doctors; prescribing rules are set by each state. [Medical boards · telemedicine guidance](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/fsmb-workgroup-on-telemedicineapril-2022-final.pdf) Use this to frame questions about the assessment, tests and follow-up. In its May 2026 report, the federation says choosing a medicine from a list cannot replace a proper health assessment. [Medical boards · prescribing trends](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/guidance-on-recent-trends-in-prescribing-and-dispensing-adopted.pdf) This report gives advice to medical boards; it does not create a new federal law. Permission to practise must cover the patient’s location during the visit, the US health department explains. [US health department · state licensing](https://telehealth.hhs.gov/licensure/getting-started-licensure) For a doctor’s public record, use the state medical board reached through the federation’s directory. [Medical boards · state directory](https://www.fsmb.org/contact-a-state-medical-board/) For a pharmacy, use FDA’s links to the relevant state board instead. [FDA · state pharmacy lookup](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/locate-state-licensed-online-pharmacy) Match the name on the proposed prescription or label. ### For a quoted medicine price The government’s September 2026 price record for semaglutide (Ozempic) showed an opening cash offer and higher prices after it. [Government price page · the terms](https://trumprx.gov/p/ozempic) Those figures cover the medicine in that offer. Ask the clinic for the visit fee separately. Ask for the terms that would apply when your prescription is filled. Compare the quote for medicine with the separate quote for care. ## Keep the limits attached A report to FDA describes a problem someone had while taking a medicine. It does not prove the medicine caused that problem or tell us how often it happens. [FDA · reading reports of medicine problems](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fda-adverse-event-monitoring-system-aems/fda-adverse-event-monitoring-system-aems-public-dashboard) Use reports to see what was reported, then ask your clinician what is known about the cause. FDA warns that a company’s later replies can change the situation described in a warning letter. Search FDA’s warning-letter page by company name and look for a later company response or an FDA update. [FDA · letters and later responses](https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/compliance-actions-and-activities/warning-letters) A warning letter records FDA’s concerns at that date; it is not a court decision. A search finding no letter cannot tell you whether FDA has checked the company. Continue reading [Return to the orientation ↗](/) The Treatment Papers is a reading guide to care decisions; this journal runs no clinic and sells no treatment. 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