[Skip to answers](#answers) [Care, explained](/) Looking past the telehealth prescription form [Is online care real?](/) [What happens next?](/question-map) [What will I pay?](/cost-map) [What do studies show?](/evidence-map) [What can go wrong?](/risk-map) RISK MAP # What can go wrong with online care? Start with names and records you can check. Then ask how questions and problems are handled. THE MYTH FDA registered means FDA approved. THE FACT ## Registration does not establish approval. The Food and Drug Administration is also called FDA. As of September 2026, a business’s registration with the agency does not grant approval to its medicines. ## Check the people behind the site The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that a convincing website can use fake official-looking seals. State medical boards license doctors. The records show if a doctor is still allowed to practice, along with any board action for misconduct or poor care. The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) has a directory that leads to each state board. [Find a state medical board ↗](https://www.fsmb.org/contact-a-state-medical-board/) Check the pharmacy separately, using the name of the pharmacy that will send or hand you the medicine. [Find the state pharmacy search ↗](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/locate-state-licensed-online-pharmacy) As of September 2026, it is against federal law to supply prescription medicine without a valid prescription. ## Compounded and generic differ Compounding is the preparation of medicine to fill an order by a pharmacist or doctor. A generic is another version of a drug with FDA approval. As of September 2026, compounded drugs get no FDA check of quality, benefit, or safety before sale. The national shortage list in September 2026 included no semaglutide injections and no tirzepatide injections. Federal law as of September 2026 restricts making copies of available approved medicines to order, either regularly or in large amounts. For a medicine to fall outside that copy rule, it must be changed for a specific patient. The person prescribing must decide that, for that patient, the change makes a meaningful difference. Ask how the medicine will be changed and why the change matters to your health. A price cut by itself does not satisfy this rule. In the U.S., selling generic semaglutide or tirzepatide was not legal as of September 2026. FDA-approved generic liraglutide products did exist then, including versions approved for weight loss. ## Pause at research labels As of September 2026, consumer products marked for research and containing weight-loss drug ingredients carry an FDA warning against their use. These products may harm your health, and their quality is unknown. Ask who made the exact medicine and which pharmacy will send or hand it to you. ## Read the medicine’s warnings The semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide labels reviewed in September 2026 describe stomach problems. The problems include vomiting, feeling sick, difficulty passing stools, and loose stools. Another warning is pancreatitis: serious internal swelling that can cause severe belly pain. Pain that lasts or spreads to the back is a warning sign described in the labels. Severe allergic reactions are another label warning. Each has a boxed warning, the strongest FDA label warning, for thyroid tumors, growths seen in lab animals. It is not known if these drugs cause those tumors in people. The labels rule out use when you or a family member has a history of medullary thyroid cancer. This is a rare cancer of a specific kind of thyroid cell, one of the tiny parts that make up the thyroid. The labels also rule out use for MEN 2, a rare condition passed from one generation of a family to the next. MEN 2 stands for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2: a condition involving tumors in glands that make hormones, the body’s chemical signals. If thyroid cancer or MEN 2 is in your family, ask the doctor to check the exact diagnosis in the medical records before deciding about treatment. A past serious allergic reaction to the medicine also rules out use. Ask the person treating you whether your past illnesses or family history make this medicine unsuitable. ## Know where to get help Ask who can answer questions between visits about side effects, the unwanted effects of a medicine. FDA guidance checked in September 2026 advises against using refrigerated injections that arrive warm or poorly chilled. A severe allergic reaction may threaten a person’s life. If an allergic reaction causes severe symptoms, such as trouble breathing, contact emergency services. ## Read the limits behind the claims [FDA • What approval means](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/it-really-fda-approved) This explains why a registration or a professional-looking badge is not product approval. [FDA • Unapproved weight medicines](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss) Read the parts on research labels, false pharmacy names, and products that arrive poorly chilled. [U.S. label • Semaglutide](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b) The September 2026 label review covers common unwanted effects, pancreatitis and its belly-pain warning signs, and the boxed thyroid warning. [U.S. label • Tirzepatide](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b) Ask the doctor whether your past illnesses or family history make this medicine unsuitable. This label lists the warnings and who must not use it. [U.S. label • Liraglutide](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=3946d389-0926-4f77-a708-0acb8153b143) The warning in a box and the reasons to rule out use also appear here. [NIH • Severe allergic reactions](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000844.htm) This explains fast symptoms and when emergency help is needed. NEXT QUESTION ## Ready to ask a care service? Use the question checklist to keep the conversation focused. [Open the next map →](/question-map) This guide explains care choices; it has no clinic to book and no medicines to sell. [Read the text version](/risk-map.md) [All guide pages](/llms.txt)