Georgia / Care briefings
A guide to finding and understanding care
Check the evidence
The situation
An offer shows badges and a drug identification number, often labeled NDC. Ask what each item tells you about the exact medicine.
Keep the claim, the product and the source beside each other. They need to refer to the same thing.
FDA is the federal drug agency: the Food and Drug Administration.
From the record
As of September 2026, FDA describes a National Drug Code as a product identifier; having this number does not establish FDA approval.
For a drug sold as approved, ask to see its FDA approval record with the same product name and form, such as a shot or pill.
Record checked in September 2026.
FDA: what drug codes meanRegistration is a listing of a business or drug with FDA. As of September 2026, that listing does not show FDA approval or permission to sell the product.
Request the FDA approval file that names this exact finished drug. For a medicine made to order, ask which compounding rule allows it.
Compounding is making or mixing medicine to meet a patient's need.
From the record
FDA guidance checked in September 2026 calls it misleading to say studies prove a compounded medicine gives the same result as an approved drug.
Ask whether the study used the exact made-to-order product you would receive.
Record checked in September 2026.
FDA: claims in compounded-drug offersAn advisory committee is a group that advises FDA.
As of September 2026, an FDA advisory committee's vote is advice; it does not itself change which ingredients may be compounded.
FDA must formally change the rule before a committee recommendation can add an ingredient to the official compounding list.
For a regular pharmacy, the ingredient rules look for an accepted medicine standard, use in an approved drug, or a place on the official list.
Ask the pharmacist which test your exact ingredient meets, and to show the record. FDA also publishes temporary policies for ingredients it is still considering.
FDA: ingredient rules and temporary policiesRead the official compounding ingredient listFrom the record
FDA says an unwanted-event report cannot show that a medicine was the cause or tell how often the problem occurs.
Ask the person treating you what the reported problem means for your care. A report can help frame that question.
Record checked in September 2026.
FDA: limits of event reportsThe Federal Trade Commission tackles deceptive business practices; it warns that health websites can fake seals or promises of money back.
Use the state license records and the relevant government file to check the claim in front of you.
Federal law, as of September 2026, prohibits supplying prescription medicine without a valid prescription.
The Federal Trade Commission warns that demands for payment only by bank transfer, gift card or online money called cryptocurrency are likely scams.
FTC: payment demands that signal a scam