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[Orlando care notebook](/)

Browse the notebook

Get your bearings

[First page](/)

[What peptide means](/open-notebook)

[Your Florida starting point](/orlando-notes)

Make the checks

[An online visit](/screen-notes)

[Look up the clinician](/licence-notes)

[Check the pharmacy](/pharmacy-notes)

[Check the exact drug](/medicine-notes)

Put money in the picture

[The whole bill](/budget-notes)

[What a plan may pay](/coverage-notes)

Before the visit

[Questions about harm](/caution-notes)

[Test the claims](/red-flag-notes)

[Questions to bring](/ask-and-note)

[Official sources and help](/source-notebook)

Before the visit · the source notebook

# Use the source that answers your question

Ask what record supports an answer. A drug question, a licence question, and a complaint need different places to look. Start with the question you need settled.

## For the medicine, read the FDA wording

The US drug regulator is called the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA for short.

Compare the offer with the FDA's own wording. Ask the prescriber to explain any part that does not line up.

[Read the FDA explanation of approval](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/it-really-fda-approved)

## For a licence, use the Florida record

The Florida health search shows licence status, information about health professionals, and any recorded penalties.

A penalty can mean a fine, limits on someone's work, or loss of their licence.

Check the actual person or pharmacy name. Keep the record with the details supplied by the service.

[Open the Florida health search](https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/Home)

## Read a letter in context

The FDA keeps an online collection of letters about possible rule-breaking that you can search by company name.

A letter shows the FDA's concerns when it was written. The company may later have answered or fixed a problem. Look for a response or a closeout letter, a later FDA letter about how the company addressed its concerns.

Having no letter does not mean a company passed a check; it may never have been reviewed.

[Search the FDA's published letters](https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/compliance-actions-and-activities/warning-letters)

## For a concern about a health professional

Florida's health department takes written complaints about health professionals and pharmacies through its complaint website or on a paper form, a sheet with questions to fill in.

As of September 2026, filing is free, though copies of medical records may cost money.

As of September 2026, the department can penalize a health professional, including limiting their work or taking away their licence. It cannot get your money back or settle a billing or refund dispute.

Keep the care concern and the payment question clear when choosing a reporting route.

[Read Florida's health complaint process](https://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-regulations/complaints-enforcement/)

## For a concern about a facility

Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration takes reports about licensed health facilities and facilities operating without a required licence.

Its complaint page links separate forms for those routes.

[Open Florida's facility complaint routes](https://ahca.myflorida.com/contact-ahca/file-a-complaint.html)

## For misleading ads or a scam

Florida's Attorney General has a consumer protection complaint route for unfair or deceptive business conduct.

As of September 2026, information sent on those forms is generally public record unless Florida law exempts it.

Read the form's terms before deciding what personal details to send.

[Read the Attorney General's complaint terms](https://www.myfloridalegal.com/how-to-contact-us/file-a-complaint)

A question to keep

Ask: Am I checking the medicine, the licence, the care, or the bill? Start with the record for that question.

## Sources for this page

Read the original wording behind the answers.

[FDA · product approval explained](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/it-really-fda-approved)

[Florida · health licence search](https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/Home)

[Florida · practitioner complaint process](https://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-regulations/complaints-enforcement/)

[Florida · facility complaint forms](https://ahca.myflorida.com/contact-ahca/file-a-complaint.html)

[Florida · consumer complaint terms](https://www.myfloridalegal.com/how-to-contact-us/file-a-complaint)

[Previous page Questions to bring](/ask-and-note)

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This Orlando notebook helps with care questions. It does not operate a clinic; medicine is not sold through it.

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[Open the text version](/source-notebook.md)