Frequently Asked Questions

PepKey is an independent scoring and verification platform for peptide therapy providers. We evaluate clinics, telehealth practices, and compounding pharmacies against a published, objective methodology — covering documentation quality, regulatory compliance, patient safety signals, and professional credentials. Our goal is to give patients a reliable signal in a market that's crowded with marketing claims and light on accountability. We do not prescribe, treat, or diagnose.

No. PepKey is fully independent. We have no ownership interest in, referral arrangement with, or financial relationship with any provider we score. Paid listing tiers exist for enhanced visibility features — they never affect a provider's trust score. Our methodology and scoring process are published at pepkey.org/methodology.

PepKey generates revenue through optional paid listing tiers that providers can purchase for enhanced profile features, priority placement in search results, and access to analytics. Paid placement is clearly disclosed on all listings. Scores are calculated independently of commercial relationships — a provider cannot purchase a higher score. This separation is a core operating principle, not a marketing claim.

PepKey was founded by a PA-C with fellowship training in orthopedics and a background in clinical care. The platform emerged from a real gap: patients seeking legitimate peptide therapy had no credible, independent resource to evaluate providers. PepKey exists to fill that gap with a structured, published methodology — not opinion, not pay-to-play ratings.

No. PepKey is a verification and information platform. Nothing on PepKey constitutes medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment recommendation. Peptide therapy decisions should be made in consultation with a qualified, licensed clinician who knows your individual health history. PepKey helps you evaluate which providers are worth that conversation — it does not replace it.

Use the Provider Directory and filter by state. Each listing shows the provider's trust score, license type, and key verification signals. You can also filter by score range to focus on higher-rated providers. Most telehealth providers can serve patients across multiple states, so don't limit yourself to geography alone — look at the score and what's behind it.

Scores run from 0 to 10. A 3.5 means the provider meets some basic criteria — they're a real, licensed entity — but is missing key transparency signals: no published consent documentation, no verified prescriber credentials, limited patient safety information, or no PCAB/state board verification on record. It doesn't mean the provider is bad. It means there's not enough verifiable information to assess them confidently. You should ask more questions before proceeding.

Because most providers haven't been scored against a rigorous, objective standard before. The peptide therapy market has grown faster than the infrastructure to evaluate it. Many legitimate practices simply haven't published the documentation, credentialing information, or safety protocols that a high score requires. A low score often reflects a documentation gap, not necessarily a quality gap — but those gaps still matter to patients making care decisions.

PepKey doesn't tell you who to trust — that's your call. What we tell you is what we can and cannot verify. A provider with a 3.0 may be a perfectly capable clinician who just hasn't published their protocols publicly. A provider with a 7.0 has demonstrated verifiable transparency across multiple dimensions. Use the score as a starting point, not a final verdict. Review the score breakdown, ask your provider the questions we suggest, and make an informed decision.

503A pharmacies compound medications on a per-patient, prescription-specific basis. They are regulated primarily by state boards of pharmacy. 503B pharmacies — called outsourcing facilities — are FDA-registered and may produce larger batches without individual patient prescriptions. They face more stringent federal oversight including current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) requirements. For patients, 503B facilities generally represent a higher standard of quality assurance. PepKey's pharmacy directory distinguishes between these two categories and scores them accordingly.

At minimum, ask: (1) Are you a licensed prescriber and what is your license number? (2) Which compounding pharmacy do you use, and is it 503A or 503B? (3) Do you require lab work before prescribing? (4) What monitoring do you do during treatment? (5) What are the known side effects and contraindications for the specific peptide being prescribed? (6) Do you have informed consent documentation I can review before starting? Any provider who is evasive on these questions is a provider worth reconsidering.

Yes. Legitimate peptide therapy requires a prescription or direct order from a licensed clinician after a real clinical evaluation. If a site offers injectable peptides through a checkout page with no consultation, no named prescriber, and no license information, treat that as a serious red flag. PepKey treats prescription transparency as one of the most important trust signals because it separates actual medical care from retail-style sales.

Compounded means the medication was prepared by a licensed pharmacy for a specific patient or practice rather than sold as an FDA-approved brand product. Compounded products can be legal and appropriate, but they are not the same thing as FDA-approved medications. Ask which pharmacy compounds the product, whether it is a 503A or 503B facility, and what quality controls and oversight apply.

Start with the state board for the state where the clinician practices — medicine, nursing, or physician assistants depending on the prescriber type. Match the exact name and license number, then check active status and any disciplinary history. For pharmacies, verify the company name against the state board or FDA 503B outsourcing-facility list. If a provider won't give you a license number, that's a problem in itself.

Yes — telehealth can be legitimate when it includes a real clinician review, verification that the prescriber is licensed where you live, and clear follow-up expectations. What should raise concern is a checkout-style process that skips history, skips identity checks, and never tells you who is actually supervising your care.

Because a legitimate clinician should review your history before making a decision. Labs or records can help screen for contraindications, create a baseline for monitoring, and confirm that a therapy is appropriate for you. If a provider never asks about medications, medical history, or prior results, that is a warning sign — not a shortcut.

You should be able to identify the dispensing pharmacy, the patient name, the medication name or ingredient, strength or concentration, lot or batch information, expiration date, and storage instructions. If a shipment arrives with no pharmacy label, no lot number, or no way to trace where it came from, ask questions before using it.

Every provider starts at 0 and earns points across four weighted components: (1) Documentation — informed consent, intake protocols, and published safety information; (2) Credentials — licensed prescriber verification, DEA registration, board certification; (3) Independent Verification — PCAB accreditation, state board standing, FDA registration for pharmacies; (4) Engagement — claimed listing, responded to data requests, published patient-facing materials. The full scoring rubric and point weights are published at pepkey.org/methodology.

No. This is a non-negotiable operating principle. Paid tiers on PepKey affect profile features and placement in search results — not scores. Score calculations happen independently of commercial relationships and are based on verifiable, objective criteria. If we ever discovered a way commercial pressure had influenced a score, that would represent a fundamental failure of what PepKey is built to do.

An "Unclaimed" listing means the provider has not yet verified ownership of their listing with PepKey. The listing exists because the provider is a real, licensed entity in our database — but they haven't engaged with the platform. Unclaimed providers are scored on publicly available information only. Claiming a listing allows a provider to submit additional documentation, correct inaccuracies, and unlock transparency signals that can improve their score by up to +2 points.

"Verified" means PepKey has confirmed the provider's core credentials against primary sources: license status with the relevant state board or FDA registration database, prescriber DEA registration (where applicable), and basic identity confirmation. Verification is a floor — it confirms the provider is who they say they are. It does not mean PepKey endorses the quality of their clinical care or recommends them above unverified providers.

Scores are reviewed on a rolling basis. Providers who claim their listing and submit documentation are reviewed within 30 days of submission. All other providers are reassessed at minimum quarterly, or when a material event occurs — such as a licensing action, FDA warning letter, or significant change in their publicly available information. Score update dates are shown on each provider's listing page.

Go to your provider listing page and click the "Claim This Listing" button. You'll be prompted to verify your identity and relationship to the practice through a simple validation process. Once claimed, you can submit additional documentation, update contact information, add your credentials, and respond to your current score breakdown. Claimed listings with complete documentation consistently score higher than unclaimed ones.

Most scores that surprise providers are low because of documentation gaps — not because the practice is doing something wrong. Common reasons for lower scores: consent forms not publicly available, no licensed prescriber credentials verifiable through public databases, no published intake or safety protocols, pharmacy sourcing not disclosed, or the listing has never been claimed. Each of these is addressable. Claim your listing, review the score breakdown, and submit the missing documentation.

After claiming your listing, navigate to the "Request Re-Review" section in your provider dashboard. Submit any updated documentation — credentials, protocols, pharmacy partnerships, or consent materials. Re-reviews are completed within 30 business days. If you believe there is a factual error in your current score (e.g., a license status is wrong), you can flag it directly through the dashboard and we will prioritize the correction.

We use publicly available information as the baseline: state medical/pharmacy board license databases, DEA registrant lookup, FDA 503B outsourcing facility registrations, PCAB accreditation lists, your practice's public-facing website (consent forms, intake protocols, safety information), and patient safety signals from independent sources. When you claim your listing, you can supplement this with submitted documentation that we verify directly. We do not use patient reviews or testimonials as scoring inputs.