When to pause a care offer

Pause when the assessment is missing.

As of September 2026, giving out prescription medicine breaks federal law if there is no valid prescription.

A prescription is an order for medicine from a doctor or another health professional with legal permission to prescribe it.

Nurse practitioners are nurses who may assess patients and prescribe under state rules.

Physician assistants are other health professionals who may provide medical care and prescribe under state rules.

Ask which state board licenses the person ordering your medicine. Ask that board to confirm the person may prescribe for you.

Pause if that step is missing. Ask who is responsible for assessing you and who answers questions once the visit ends.

Medical-board guidance checked as of September 2026 says an online questionnaire alone is not a proper health check if it cannot gather all the information needed.

Watch for a questionnaire with the same questions for everyone and no way for the person treating you to ask more. An online form can be part of care when more questions can be asked. Ask how that works and how to raise questions of your own.

This guidance is advice for state boards. Each state’s own rules decide what is required.

Pause at laboratory-use labels and false approval claims.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews particular medicines for particular uses.

In warning letters available as of September 2026, FDA said sellers were offering unapproved drugs for people to use, even with labels saying “for research use only”.

“For research use only” means labelled for laboratory work.

Pause if a product offered for your care carries that label.

Making or changing a medicine to suit a patient is called compounding.

As of September 2026, describing a compounded medicine as “FDA-approved” makes a false claim.

Request the medicine’s exact name, then ask whether it has FDA approval. Ask which pharmacy makes and sends it.

Resolve a delivery or instruction problem.

FDA lists damaged packaging, missing instructions and uncertain pharmacy details among signs that need attention.

Ask the pharmacy that supplied your medicine to explain unclear instructions or check a delivery problem before you use it.

Storage depends on the exact product; there is no cold-storage rule that covers all peptides.

Ask how the medicine must be kept, using its label and the instructions from the pharmacy.

A product problem can be reported.

MedWatch is the FDA service where problems involving medical products can be reported.

Patients can send a report themselves.

FDA says a submitted report alone is not proof that the medicine caused the problem.