Check more than the price.

Check the medicine and the pharmacy

To supply prescription medicine, federal law requires a valid prescription under the rules checked September 26, 2026.

An order for medicine is called a prescription when written by a doctor or another health worker with permission under law to write it.

Ask which pharmacy will supply it and look up that pharmacy’s licence.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directs readers to the state pharmacy licence search and advises against using a pharmacy absent from the record.

A licence record answers the licence question. It cannot answer every question about the treatment or the charge.

A compounded drug is prepared to order instead of being supplied as a finished drug from a factory.

As of September 26, 2026, FDA rejects claims that a compounded medicine has FDA approval or is the same as an approved product.

FDA also urges people to avoid research-labelled products sold for human use: their unknown quality means they could cause harm.

Keep the price in context

Unusually large discounts appear on FDA’s list of warning signs; price by itself cannot prove that an offer is wrong.

Read it beside the licence record, the named medicine and the care terms. Ask for missing answers before treating the headline as a full quote.

FDA has received reports of measuring mistakes with compounded injections of the medicine semaglutide, including reports that required hospital care.

If medicine instructions are unclear, ask the person who wrote the prescription or the pharmacist to explain them. Resolve that question before comparing prices.

Urgent help for severe symptoms

A severe allergic reaction can threaten life; MedlinePlus lists a swollen face or tongue and trouble with breathing or swallowing among its signs.

Call 911 for severe symptoms, or go to the closest emergency room.

The US National Library of Medicine provides health information through MedlinePlus.

MedWatch is FDA’s free service where patients can send reports about medicine problems.