A word, explained.

Active ingredient

The medicine or other ingredient identified as doing a treatment job. A list of possible actives is not a record of what your own formula contains.

Beyond-use date

The date assigned to a compounded preparation for use under its stated storage conditions. Ask the dispensing pharmacist about your actual label; do not calculate it from a delivery date.

Compounded

A preparation made by combining, mixing or altering ingredients for a patient. It is not an FDA-approved generic merely because one ingredient also exists in approved drugs.

Consultation credit

A provider-defined allowance for starting a medical conversation. Read the service rules; the phrase does not automatically mean unlimited free consultations.

Dispensing pharmacy

The pharmacy supplying the medicine. Its identity may differ from the telehealth brand. Use the relevant state board to check its license.

Generic

An FDA-approved generic has an approval pathway and requirements distinct from a compounded preparation. The word should not be used as a synonym for any unbranded cream.

Personalized

The prescriber selects a formula after assessment. The term alone does not establish superior outcomes or guarantee a particular ingredient.

Retinoid

A family name for vitamin A-related substances, including tretinoin and retinol. Members are not interchangeable products or equal-strength percentages.

Retinol

A retinoid found in nonprescription skincare. A retinol percentage cannot be used as a direct conversion to a tretinoin prescription.

Strength

The concentration of an ingredient in the preparation. It does not tell you how much to apply or how often to apply it.

Supply period

The advertised time a quantity is intended to last under the provider’s directions. It can differ from a billing month or the next shipping interval.

Vehicle

The base that carries the ingredients, such as a cream, gel or lotion. Its ingredients matter for tolerability; the base is not just packaging.