Ask next · a worksheet for the conversation
Bring the questions.
Keep the answers.
Use this sheet when asking a doctor about care, in person or through telehealth. Care through video, phone or messages is called telehealth.
Put the concern you want help with at the top of your notes. Leave room to ask about other care options.
Compare the route to care
What will the visit involve?
Ask what happens during the visit, and who handles the next step.
Remote visit
Ask how you and the doctor will speak during the visit and where to turn for help afterward.
As of September 2026, U.S. health department guidance says a doctor must have permission to treat patients in your state during a remote visit.
Here, your state means where you are located when the visit takes place. Ask for the doctor’s licence for that state, or the state’s written rule allowing the visit.
In some states, doctors licensed in another state can register there to give remote care, as of September 2026.
Each state sets the terms for that permission.
In-person visit
Ask what the visit will include and whether there will be an exam.
State medical boards are the bodies that license doctors.
The national group for state medical boards advises doctors to arrange needed tests or exams that cannot be done by video or phone.
This advice is not a law.
As of September 2026, each state sets the rules doctors must follow.
Ask the doctor who will arrange any needed test or exam and which state rule applies to your visit.
Check a doctor’s licence
State medical boards publish doctor licence records and any public action against doctors who have broken the rules.
Find the state medical boardCheck a named pharmacy
FDA’s lookup page links to each state’s pharmacy licence search.
Find the pharmacy licence searchAsk, then write it down
Get answers you can check
A clear answer can include a document, a study or a question that remains open.
The name
What is the exact substance?
Ask whether the substance is TB-500 or thymosin beta-4, the longer protein that TB-500 partly copies.
FDA has found different forms sold under the short name TB-500.
Ask the doctor to write the full name and explain which form is being offered. Copy that name into the answer space; there is no need to guess it.
The evidence
Which study in people backs this for my concern?
The FDA review checked in September 2026 found no published study where people were given TB-500.
The access rules
What law allows the pharmacy to use this ingredient?
The U.S. law called section 503A covers a pharmacy or doctor preparing medicine on prescription for an individually named patient.
HHS plans in its October 30, 2026 draft to withhold enforcement for TB-500 prepared on a patient’s prescription when its requirements are met.
Read why TB-500 does not meet those legal conditionsThe next conversation
How can I reach the doctor after the visit?
Ask who will answer new questions and what happens if another visit or test is needed.
These are personal question sheets. Nothing is submitted. Print the page to keep your notes.
Put the whole quote on paper
What will I actually pay?
There is no approved TB-500 medicine with a price published by its maker or the government, as of September 2026.
Ask for each charge in writing before agreeing to a care plan.
My cost sheet
Test claims about the fragment
Look closely at promises
Write down what you were told and where the proof came from. If nobody knows the answer, write “not known” and keep the question for the doctor.
As of September 2026, there is no proof that TB-500 has no side effects.
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The words “for research use only” say a product is for lab work, not for treating people.
FDA’s warning letters checked in September 2026 say such labels do not excuse selling unapproved medicines for people to use.
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“FDA registered” means a business has sent FDA its details.
As of September 2026, registration does not show FDA approval for the business or for its medicines.
HHS proposes pausing enforcement for prescribed TB-500 in its October 30, 2026 draft when all its requirements, beyond a pharmacy license, are met.