Source tools
Put the claim beside the record.
A polished offer can leave the main question unanswered. Match each claim to the record that can support it.
Different records answer different questions.
A licence concerns the person or pharmacy. Product approval concerns the medicine. A registration is another kind of record.
Registering a business or listing a medicine did not establish approval, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explained on September 26, 2026.
An NDC (National Drug Code) identifies an entry for a product in FDA’s drug catalogue. A code or listing does not mean FDA approved the product.
Ask which exact record supports the claim being made. Then read what that record can actually establish.
- Who can provide care?
- State credential record
- What product was reviewed?
- FDA approval and label record
- What concerns were raised?
- Dated agency letters or alerts
Evidence for this chapter
- FDA: the scope and limits of approval
As of September 26, 2026, registering a business did not show that FDA had approved its products.
- FDA: drug codes and listings
A code is not a substitute for checking the product’s approval.
Open the tool that fits the question.
- Check a Washington credential
Search the actual clinician or pharmacy name.
- Understand an approval claim
Read FDA’s explanation of what it approves.
- Read the compounding and shortage updates
Check the date and the exact product named.
- Search FDA letters
Use the business name, then read the date and any later response.
This file contains the questions shown on the starting card. JSON is a plain text format that also has punctuation for computers to read.
Read the medicine, care, and cost questions (JSON file)Evidence for this chapter
- Washington: how to use the credential record
State lookup guidance as of September 30, 2026.
- FDA: public letters and later updates
Letters are dated records, and later exchanges can change the issues described.
Read what the record leaves uncertain.
An FDA letter describes the agency’s concerns on its issue date; it is not a court’s final finding.
The absence of a letter may mean the business has never undergone review.
FDA also says that a reported health problem establishes neither that a medicine caused it nor how often the problem happens.
Keep the questions apart: what is known about the product, what the rules permit, and what fits your own care discussion.
For a personal decision, bring the exact name and the unanswered question to a licensed clinician.
Evidence for this chapter
- FDA: how to read problem reports
A report calls for a closer look. It does not prove what caused a health problem or how often it happens.
- FDA: limits of a letter
A later response may change the concerns described in a letter.