Question brief / Your workbook
Get the answers
before you pay.
Peptides are tiny substances made of linked parts, like beads on a short string.
The same parts also build proteins.
Some peptides are medicines, such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), used for diabetes or weight loss.
Write down the answers. Leave a blank where an answer is missing. Print this page for notes, or keep the questions beside you during a visit.
A licence needs a name
Who takes
responsibility?
Who will assess me, and where is their licence record available to check?
With telehealth, care reaches you through a video visit, a phone call or an online form.
Will I see a doctor or another health professional, and who will prescribe my medicine?
A nurse practitioner is a nurse with extra training to assess and treat health problems.
A physician assistant is trained to assess and treat patients as a health professional.
As of September 2026, permission to provide telehealth care must cover the state you are physically in at the time of your visit.
US health department · State permission for remote careAs of September 2026, some states accept telehealth registration from an out-of-state doctor in place of a full licence there.
US health department · Registration for care across statesYour state medical board, the office that licenses doctors, keeps records of a doctor’s licence and any public action against them.
A doctor’s record may show no public action, but that alone does not prove the quality of care.
Medical board directory · Find your state boardOpen your state board’s site. Search the doctor’s full name. Look for a current licence and read any action against them. For a visit with a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant, ask which state office issues that person’s licence. Ask that office to confirm their licence and permission to prescribe your medicine.
Which pharmacy will make or send any medicine?
You can find links to state pharmacy licence searches on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) site and check a pharmacy by name.
A pharmacy’s licence record alone does not prove that it supplies prescription medicines correctly.
FDA · Find your state pharmacy searchNames and licence records to keep
Check the medicine
What exactly
is being offered?
Record the medicine’s name and why it is being offered, plus its form: a pill, a shot or something else. For each promised result, ask for the study that supports it. Keep the study’s title or link with your notes.
Does this product have approval, or is it a compounded medicine prepared to order?
A pharmacy or doctor prepares a compounded medicine to order.
Compounded medicines lack approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as of September 2026; the agency does not review their safety, their quality or how well the medicines work before sale.
FDA · Pharmacy-made medicinesIf it is compounded, what need cannot be met with an approved product?
What human study backs this exact treatment for my problem?
As of September 2026, BPC-157, the name of a peptide offered as a treatment, has no FDA-approved medicine.
FDA says human safety data for BPC-157 are too limited to tell whether it could cause harm.
FDA · Gaps in peptide researchIf this peptide is proposed, ask what problem it is meant to treat and which study of people supports that claim.
As of September 2026, listed drug products are identified by a National Drug Code (NDC), which does not establish FDA approval.
FDA · What a drug directory code meansMedicine name, pill or shot, and studies to check
Check the assessment
What happens
at the visit?
Telehealth lets you receive care using a video connection, a phone call or a form online.
Prepare a short account of your symptoms, what you hope will change and the medicines you already take.
Picking a treatment from a menu alone is not proper care, says the Federation of State Medical Boards in guidance checked in September 2026.
The state board group also recommends giving patients a way to get answers to follow-up questions.
Medical board group · Prescribing guidanceThese are recommendations for state medical boards, not rules that automatically apply to every visit.
As of September 2026, your state’s own rules decide what is required for your visit.
What will you assess before deciding on a treatment?
Can I ask questions before a prescription is issued?
What tests or exams in person might I need?
The board group recommends arranging any tests or exams you need in person, or referring you to someone who can provide them.
Medical board group · Tests and care in personThe assessment and any extra steps
Check the full bill
What will I
actually pay?
Ask for the total in writing. Split the medicine charge from the care charge. Add any tests, delivery and repeat visits.
What is included, and what gets charged again?
Keep an offer price separate
Self-pay means paying outside insurance.
This offer is for semaglutide (Ozempic) injection pens: devices that hold medicine for a shot.
As of September 2026, a government price page lists these pens at $199 per month for the first two monthly supplies of medicine.
The offer is for US residents who are new self-pay patients and at least 18 years old.
The $199 offer is limited to certain lower amounts of medicine used when treatment starts.
The later monthly charge is $349 or $499, based on the amount prescribed.
The introductory offer’s end date is December 31, 2026.
Government price page · Offer terms for semaglutideAsk the pharmacist whether your prescription qualifies and which later price applies to you.
Under this offer, you cannot ask your insurer to repay what you spent on the medicine.
That spending also does not count toward your deductible, the amount you must pay before your insurance starts paying.
Check the Medicare programme
GLP-1 is a hormone, or chemical message, that helps the body control blood sugar and hunger.
GLP-1 medicines, including semaglutide, copy that message.
Part D is the part of Medicare that helps pay for prescription medicines.
The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge gives qualifying Part D members access to certain weight-loss medicines at $50 per month, as of September 2026.
The programme’s scheduled start is July 1, 2026, and its scheduled end is December 31, 2027.
Medicare · Bridge programme detailsHealth and plan rules decide who qualifies; ask the person prescribing your medicine about your own case.
As of September 2026, this payment is excluded from the total used for Part D’s yearly cap on patient spending.
Medicare · What the payment coversWill my insurer pay for this medicine for my condition?
Give your insurer the exact medicine name and ask whether your plan will pay for it. Ask whether the insurer must agree before you get the medicine. Get the clinic’s cancellation and renewal terms in writing.
The full ongoing cost and the terms
Check the follow-up
What happens
after I leave?
Who can I reach with a medicine question?
What problems mean I need urgent help?
Ask for a written follow-up plan. Get the name of the person who answers medicine questions and the plan for care in person.
As of September 2026, FDA reports harm linked to mistakes in the amount of compounded semaglutide injected, including cases needing hospital care.
Patients have measured the wrong amount, and health professionals have sometimes calculated it wrongly.
FDA · Reported problems with compounded medicinesAsk the person prescribing your medicine or the pharmacist to explain any confusing instructions.
When the question cannot wait
Trouble breathing or swallowing, or swelling in the face or tongue, may signal a severe allergic reaction.
MedlinePlus says to call 911 or the local emergency number when symptoms are severe.
US medical library · Severe allergic reactionsWho answers questions and how to get help