Caution cards

Know when a care offer needs a pause.

Follow the medicine back to the person writing the medicine order and a checkable pharmacy. Ask again when an answer stays vague.

Compare a process with a shortcut

Compare a care process with a shortcut

A process you can check

Ask for names and records

Get the doctor’s complete name and check their permission to practise at your location. Find out the name of the pharmacy that makes the medicine and ships it to you.

The initials FDA name the Food and Drug Administration; reviewing medicines is part of this U.S. agency’s work.

FDA links to state records where you can check a pharmacy’s licence.

A licence record alone does not prove that medicine is supplied properly.

Find the pharmacy-licence search

An unanswered shortcut

Notice what is skipped

FDA guidance checked September 17, 2026 flagged services providing medicine without a licensed doctor’s screening and prescription.

Another warning sign it identified was being unable to reach a licensed doctor with questions once you receive the medicine.

A research label is not permission for treatment

Letters reviewed September 26, 2026 set out FDA’s allegations that named sellers violated drug laws: they sold unapproved medicines for human use despite labels saying “research only.”

Those letters describe FDA’s allegations about the sellers; a letter is not a ruling by a court.

FDA has told sellers that injections can bypass the body’s protection against germs and lead to serious harm.

Evidence cardLook past the research wordingRead the source

Look past the research wording

FDA’s account checked September 26, 2026 described research-labelled weight-drug products sold directly to people with instructions for human use.

The agency said these products had unknown quality and could be harmful.

Read the FDA account of research-labelled weight drugs

Read “registered” with care

A business registers with FDA by submitting its details for the agency’s records.

Registration gave no assurance of FDA approval or permission to sell the business’s medicines under the U.S. rules reviewed on September 26, 2026.

A health website’s seal or logo may look official yet be fake, warns the Federal Trade Commission.

Return to the actual licence record and the exact product. Ask what a badge is meant to prove.

Evidence cardApproval and registration are separateRead the source

Approval and registration are separate

Health care providers, including medical offices, did not receive FDA approval under the rules in place September 26, 2026.

Read what the FDA does and does not approve

If you feel very ill after treatment

Get urgent help for a severe reaction

A tongue that swells, or severe difficulty swallowing or breathing, may signal an allergic reaction that threatens life.

Get emergency medical help for severe symptoms of that reaction.

Reporting is a separate step

MedWatch lets patients send FDA a report about a medicine problem at no charge.

A report alone does not show that a medicine is responsible for the reported problem.

Open the FDA reporting guide

How to store your medicine

Different medicines need different storage conditions, such as where to keep them; check the medicine’s label and pharmacy instructions.

Ask the doctor and pharmacist to explain any unclear instructions.