Skip to the guide Nevada What “specialist” leaves unanswered Words & medicines Start here Words to know Made-to-order medicine Research labels Finding care Care questions Nevada license checks Online visit terms Before a visit Questions to carry Costs & cautions Cost notes Insurance notes Cautions for care Claims to question Notes and sources Words & medicines # What is a compounded medicine? A compounded medicine is prepared to fill an order. Ask what makes that preparation necessary in your case. ## How preparing an individual order changes the picture A licensed pharmacist or doctor can prepare a medicine to order, as recorded September 17, 2026. FDA is the national agency for medicine reviews. Read “FDA” as “Food and Drug Administration.” Evidence note ### A different kind of review The September 26, 2026 record confirmed that compounded preparations had not received approval from FDA. FDA: how compounding differs FDA: compounding quality concerns Before sale, FDA does not assess a compounded preparation’s safety, its quality, or whether it works. ### Why might one be used? Compounding was an option FDA described for two situations: an approved medicine unavailable, or unable to meet the patient’s medical need, as checked September 26, 2026. ## Who makes the medicine? A pharmacy making medicine for one person Under federal law’s section 503A, the medicine is prepared for an individual identified on a valid prescription, as checked September 26, 2026. This usually means an ordinary pharmacy making medicine for one person. A prescription alone does not meet every rule. The ingredient and copying rules are explained below. A larger place making batches Federal law’s section 503B covers facilities registered with FDA for preparing sterile medicine in batches, as checked September 26, 2026. Sterile means free of living germs. These places are called outsourcing facilities and often supply clinics and hospitals. They do not need a prescription naming each patient. These 503B facilities must follow federal factory quality rules, and FDA inspects them, as checked September 26, 2026. Those federal factory rules were not required of ordinary 503A pharmacies at the September 26, 2026 check. State pharmacy boards still oversee ordinary 503A pharmacies, and rules for making medicines safely still apply. ## What to ask in Nevada Ask who will make the medicine, which kind of facility it is, and why an approved product does not meet your need. Evidence note ### Copies have limits As of September 26, 2026, federal law limited making copies of available drugs regularly or in large amounts. FDA: limits on copies and shortage updates Under that rule, a prescriber could decide that a change to the medicine made a meaningful difference for one named patient, as checked September 26, 2026. The rule concerns a change to the medicine that matters for that person; a lower price alone does not qualify. Ask what would change in your medicine, such as leaving out a dye you cannot tolerate, and why that change matters for you. ### What does Nevada add? Nevada’s rules required ingredients for made-to-order medicines to be allowed under federal law, as checked September 28, 2026. For an ordinary 503A pharmacy, federal law first looks for a national drug standard for the ingredient, as checked September 26, 2026. If one exists, the ingredient must meet it. If none exists, the ingredient must be in an approved drug; if it is not, it must be on FDA’s special ingredient list. Ask the pharmacy which ingredient rule it meets. Being allowed as an ingredient does not mean FDA has approved the finished medicine. Understand research labels These notes serve as a care guide. This site neither operates as a clinic nor sells medicine. Return to the start Check a source Carry your questions Read as text