After the visit
Know what happens after the visit.
Before the conversation ends, ask how to reach your clinician, the doctor or other health professional handling your care. Ask what the next review is for.
Leave with a written plan
Ask for a short account of what was discussed, what the clinician thinks and what happens next. Keep the goal of care in your own words, too.
Ask how progress will be judged. Ask when a lack of change would lead to another assessment instead of simply repeating the same plan.
Keep access to care open
Know whom to contact with questions
In its September 2026 guidance, the medical-board federation says patients should be able to ask more questions. [A]
Ask for a phone number or message address, when to expect a reply and who helps when your clinician is away. Keep that answer before leaving the visit.
Know when a screen is not enough
Medical-board guidance calls for in-person referral when a concern needs an examination or a test that cannot be completed remotely. [B]
Ask who arranges that referral and what records go with it. An open question needs a next step, not another checkout page.
Questions once medicine is supplied
Keep instructions specific to the medicine
Storage rules differ among peptides; there is no shared rule that they all need refrigeration. [G]
Ask the pharmacy supplying the medicine for written instructions on storage and when to throw it away. Ask how to respond when a delivery fails to meet those instructions.
FDA’s online-pharmacy guidance includes access to a licensed pharmacist for questions. [C]
A suspected problem can be reported
FDA’s MedWatch service accepts patient reports of unwanted effects from medical products. [D]
A report records a suspected problem; it alone cannot establish that the medicine was the cause. [E]
A swollen face or tongue, or trouble breathing or swallowing, may signal a severe allergic reaction. MedlinePlus advises calling the local emergency number or going to an emergency department for these severe signs. [F]
Keep the product name and any written instructions with your care notes, so the details are easier to describe.
Page notes
[A] Medical-board guidance on access to further questions
[B] Medical-board guidance on referral to in-person care
[C] FDA guidance on getting answers from a pharmacist
[D] FDA’s MedWatch reporting service
[E] FDA explains what a problem report can and cannot show
[F] MedlinePlus on severe allergic reactions
[G] An approved medicine label with room-temperature storage