[Skip to the guide](#main) The care workbook A little clarity, then a next step. - Care primer Find your footing # GLP-1 clinic locator: a guide before you choose. Looking for care can start with a lot of unfamiliar words. Let’s make them easier. This is a plain-language guide to finding care. Start with the medicine names, then take a short set of checks into your own search. [Open the question workbook](/primer-questions/) [Start with the names](#medicine-names) A name to check. A cost to write down. A question worth asking. Begin with the name ## What are these medicines? Separate the ingredient from the name on the box. Then ask what the treatment is for. Your gut makes GLP-1, a hormone that sends signals about appetite and blood sugar. These medicines copy that signal; tirzepatide also acts on another gut-hormone signal. ### Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) Ozempic’s approved uses, as of September 26, 2026, included type 2 diabetes, a condition in which blood sugar is high. Wegovy is approved to help adults lose weight and keep it off. Have the person treating you walk through whether your weight and health make it an option for you. ### Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) Treating type 2 diabetes was among Mounjaro’s approved uses as of September 26, 2026. Zepbound is approved to help adults lose weight and keep it off. ### Liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda) As of September 26, 2026, Victoza is a brand for diabetes and Saxenda is a brand for weight loss. Approved copies of liraglutide, called generics, also exist. Brief source note: the links below give each medicine’s approved uses and warnings. Ask the person treating you to explain whether a medicine fits your health needs. [Semaglutide medicine information](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b) [Tirzepatide medicine information](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b) [Liraglutide medicine information](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=3946d389-0926-4f77-a708-0acb8153b143) Keep with your clinic questions A useful question is: “Which exact product are we talking about, and why that one?” Choose the conversation ## Where can a care search begin? Think about how you want to talk. Then check who will be doing the listening. - For an in-person visit, look for a licensed medical practice and ask whether it can check your health for the treatment you want to discuss. - Telehealth lets you receive care by video, phone or an exchange of messages online, without sharing a room. - If you choose remote care, ask who will arrange tests or a face-to-face examination if you need them. The licence or permission to treat you must cover your state, federal health guidance says as of September 26, 2026; this applies to doctors and other health professionals. State rules differ, including when exceptions apply. Look up the rules in the state you’ll be in when the visit takes place. Patients must be able to ask questions after treatment starts (Federation of State Medical Boards guidance); doctors are licensed by that group’s member agencies. Brief source note: federal guidance on licensing and guidance from medical boards, both as of September 26, 2026; the rules people must follow are set by each state. [Federal guidance on licences](https://telehealth.hhs.gov/licensure/getting-started-licensure) [Medical-board guidance](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/guidance-on-recent-trends-in-prescribing-and-dispensing-adopted.pdf) Keep with your clinic questions Choose a way to talk, then check the person and the plan for follow-up. Untangle the offer ## How does a pharmacy-made medicine differ? A familiar ingredient name does not answer every question about the finished medicine. Compounding means a doctor or pharmacy makes medicine to meet a particular patient’s needs. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the agency that checks a medicine for the uses proposed for it. Compounded medicines had received no approval from the FDA by September 26, 2026; the agency had not checked their quality, safety or effectiveness before they went on sale. On that date, neither semaglutide injections nor tirzepatide injections were on the national shortage list. Pharmacies had been allowed to make copies of these injections because the approved products were in short supply. As of September 26, 2026, that shortage no longer gave pharmacies permission to make those copies as a regular service. A prescriber is the doctor or other health professional responsible for ordering your medicine. Separate rules may still allow a pharmacy to change the medicine for one named patient. The prescriber must determine that, compared with the ready-made medicine, the change makes an important difference in that patient’s medical care. Cost savings by themselves do not satisfy this rule. For example, someone who is allergic to a dye may need a version without that dye. Ask what prevents an approved medicine from meeting your needs and why the suggested change matters for you. ### Is FDA registration a form of approval? As of September 26, 2026, registering with the FDA does not give a medicine approval. The FDA does not approve clinics or care professionals either. ### Does “compounded” mean “generic”? As of September 26, 2026, neither generic semaglutide nor generic tirzepatide could be legally sold in the U.S.; liraglutide has approved generics and is a separate case. Liraglutide products for diabetes have different approvals from those for weight loss. A pharmacist cannot fill a prescription for a Saxenda-type weight-loss product with a Victoza-type diabetes product, or the other way round. A compounded product does not become an approved generic just because it shares an ingredient name. Brief source note: the FDA explains compounding and the difference between registration and approval. [FDA’s dated compounding notes](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-alerts-and-statements/fda-clarifies-policies-compounders-national-glp-1-supply-begins-stabilize) [FDA on approval claims](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/it-really-fda-approved) Keep with your clinic questions Get the full product name and the reason for choosing it before comparing offers. ## Now put the checks on paper. Take questions about the prescriber, the pharmacy, the cost and what happens next. [Go to the workbook](/primer-questions/) This guide puts questions in your hands; we neither operate a clinic nor sell medicines. [Read as plain text](/index.md)