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Pharmacy checklist

Where the medicine comes from

# Name the pharmacy.

Ask who will make the medicine and who will send it. The name on a service’s website may leave those questions unanswered.

Question to carry

Get the dispensing pharmacy’s full name.

## Terms to start with

FDA means Food and Drug Administration, the US body that reviews medicines.

Sterile means free of living germs. Medicine given as a shot must be sterile. Sterile compounding means making medicine to order while keeping it free of germs.

Compounding is the preparation of a medicine to order by a pharmacist or doctor.

An FDA-registered medicine-making site can also prepare batches, often for clinics and hospitals.

A prescription is an order for a medicine from the health professional prescribing it.

## A closer look at the words

The maker prepares the medicine. The dispenser supplies it against the prescription. Ask whether the same pharmacy does both.

Read the offer

## Get the actual name

FDA notes a gap in some online care: the person getting a compounded medicine may not know who made it. [FDA on finding the maker](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers)

Request the pharmacy’s full name before payment. Ask if it could change for a refill. When the medicine arrives, compare the label with the information you were given.

In advice checked in September 2026, FDA reports false pharmacy details on some labels for compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide. Some even name a pharmacy that does not exist. [FDA on false product labels](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss)

Get the dispensing pharmacy’s full name.

Ask separately who makes a compounded preparation.

Look more closely

## Use California’s records

As checked in September 2026, California’s pharmacy search has separate records for pharmacies and for sterile compounding. [Search California’s pharmacy records](https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/about/verify_lic.shtml)

As of September 2026, a pharmacy outside the state needs a California nonresident license to send prescription medicine here. [California’s rule for pharmacies outside the state](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=4112)

As of September 2026, pharmacies based outside California also need its separate sterile-compounding license when preparing sterile medicine to send here. This includes medicine made to order for shots. [The separate rule for sterile medicine](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=4127.2)

Nonresident means outside the state. Ask which license records cover the medicine you would receive. Match the place as well as the name.

Check the relevant license type and current status.

Resolve a different name or location.

Carry this forward

## Know how to reach a pharmacist

Ask how to reach a pharmacist about the label, delivery and storage. Ask what happens if the product arrives damaged or differs from what was discussed.

Keep the pharmacy details with your visit notes. A delivery company and a customer-service desk may have different roles from the pharmacist.

Find the way to reach a pharmacist.

Keep the label and delivery information.

Keep in mind

## The chapter recap

Identify the medicine’s maker and its sender. Check the right state records. Keep a way to reach a pharmacist.

[Understand compounding](/compounding-checklist/)

These pages help you weigh care; this guide runs no clinic and sells no medicine.

[Text version](/pharmacy-checklist/index.md)