A plain-language guide to checking care
A care page catches your eye. Before paying, get clear on who will see you, what the medicine is, and what happens next. Keep this checklist beside the page as you read.
Start with the care checksPeptides are short amino acid chains. Amino acids are the building pieces of proteins.
The word peptide names a type of substance, not a treatment for one health problem.
For example, semaglutide is the medicine ingredient in some products used for diabetes or weight loss (product records checked September 26, 2026).
Ask which health problem the visit would address and what the exact medicine is meant to do for it.
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is the US agency that reviews medicines.
Source: FDA: how made-to-order medicines fit into careSource: FDA: a semaglutide product used for weight lossKeep beside a care page
Check a box once you have a clear answer. Print from your browser to take this along.
Ask for the full name and role of the clinician—the person who will review your health and treat you. Use that name in the state search below.
New York’s free licence search lets you look up a health professional or registered pharmacy by name (state page checked September 28, 2026).
Source: New York licence lookupCan you explain what brought you here and ask questions of your own? Before signing up, ask how the clinician reviews your health and medicines. Ask whether you need an examination or tests.
The national body for state medical boards says treatment chosen only from a menu is not proper care (guidance checked September 26, 2026).
That group, the Federation of State Medical Boards, also says the clinician must make room for patients’ follow-up questions.
Its advice does not decide whether a particular visit meets New York law.
Source: Medical boards’ prescribing guidanceAsk the clinician how the visit meets New York’s rules.
Ask if this product is approved, or if it was made through compounding. Compounding is making medicine to order, with a pharmacist or doctor doing the preparation.
Medicines made to order did not have FDA approval when the agency’s guidance was checked on September 26, 2026.
Before these medicines are sold, FDA does not review their safety.
Before sale, the agency also does not check whether they work well or were made well.
Source: FDA: what compounding meansAsk which pharmacy makes or fills the prescription. Keep its name with the exact medicine name.
A pharmacy sending prescription medicine to New York from another state generally needs New York registration (state rules checked September 28, 2026).
Some pharmacies qualify for an exception, so ask about New York registration if the pharmacy is missing from the search.
Source: New York rules for out-of-state pharmaciesSource: Look up the pharmacyWho answers if a label is unclear, a package arrives damaged, or you feel unwell? Ask for the follow-up process in writing.
FDA warns about services that have no licensed doctor available for questions once your medicine has arrived (checklist checked September 17, 2026).
Source: FDA: checks for online medicine servicesFor an in-person clinic, ask who reviews your health, who writes any prescription, and whether follow-up happens there too.
Take a question listTelehealth provides care across a distance, including visits by video or phone.
For licensed telehealth, ask if the clinician can treat you while you are in New York and how they arrange an in-person visit if needed.
A professional treating you at a distance while you are in New York generally needs a full New York licence (state guidance checked September 28, 2026).
Their state registration, the current record of permission to practise, is also required.
There are limited exceptions to these rules.
Source: New York guidance on remote careAsk whether the clinician has both a New York licence and current registration.