Who will actually prepare and send the medicine?

Trace the medicine to the pharmacy

FDA means Food and Drug Administration. A compounded drug is a medicine made to order for a patient’s need.

FDA notes that people getting compounded drugs online may not know who made them or how that maker is regulated.

Check the board of pharmacy record

Pharmacies have their own state licensing boards, separate from the boards that license doctors.

FDA provides links to each state’s online-pharmacy licence lookup.

Use the FDA link in the sources box and choose your state. Match the pharmacy’s details with what the service gave you.

In most states, a pharmacy shipping from another state needs the receiving state’s permit or licence.

FDA says not to use an online pharmacy if it is missing from your state’s pharmacy licence search.

A listed pharmacy is only part of the answer

Finding the pharmacy’s licence does not prove it is supplying the medicine properly.

Ask it to confirm who prepared the medicine and who can answer questions about the product. Read the label and ask about anything that does not match.

FDA has found fake labels for compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide that listed pharmacies which either never made the product or did not exist.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide are medicines used for weight and diabetes care. Ask the service to resolve any mismatch between its answer and the label.