PEPTIDE BASICS
How Peptides Are Prescribed — The Telehealth Process Explained
By G1 Peptides · Medically reviewed by the G1 Peptides clinical team · Updated September 24, 2026 · 3 min read
THE SHORT ANSWER
Peptides are prescription medications, so the process starts with a licensed provider. At G1 that is a free video consultation, followed — if appropriate — by a prescription sent to an FDA-registered compounding pharmacy, cold-chain shipping to your door, and provider follow-up for dose changes and refills. No visit, no prescription; no prescription, no peptides.
Why a provider is involved at all
Every peptide on this site is a prescription medication. That is not a formality: the dose, the duration, whether a compound is appropriate alongside your other medications, and when to stop are clinical decisions. A provider who has reviewed your history is the difference between peptide therapy and a vial bought off a website with a "research use only" sticker.
It also protects you in a more practical way. A prescription is what lets a licensed compounding pharmacy make your medication, test it, label it with a lot number and a beyond-use date, and ship it cold. None of that exists for grey-market product.
Step 1 — The consultation
At G1 the first visit is a free video consultation, booked online in about a minute. Expect the provider to cover:
- your goals — recovery from an injury, body composition, sleep, metabolic health, cognitive performance
- your medical history, current medications, and any prior peptide or hormone use
- what you have already tried and what has and has not worked
- any red flags that would rule certain compounds out (see who should not use peptides)
Some providers order labs before prescribing — a metabolic panel, hormone levels, or IGF-1 for growth-hormone peptides. If you already have recent results, bring them; G1's lab analysis tool can summarize them.
Step 2 — The prescription
If the provider decides a peptide is appropriate, they write a prescription for a specific compound, strength, dose, frequency, and duration. That prescription goes to the compounding pharmacy, not to you — you receive the finished medication.
This is the point where dose is set. Everything on the calculators pages exists to turn that prescribed dose into a syringe measurement; the calculators never decide the dose.
Step 3 — Compounding and shipping
A compounding pharmacy prepares the medication for you individually: the peptide is weighed, sterile-filled into a vial, lyophilized (freeze-dried), sealed, and labelled. Reputable pharmacies test for potency and sterility and can show a certificate of analysis for the lot.
Peptides are shipped cold-chain — insulated packaging with ice packs — because heat degrades them. Unpack on arrival and refrigerate. The vial will look like a small puck of white powder with a rubber stopper; that is correct. Reconstitution happens at home.
Step 4 — Follow-up, dose changes, and refills
Peptide protocols are rarely "set and forget." Growth-hormone peptides are assessed over weeks; GLP-1 doses escalate monthly; recovery peptides are often run in cycles. Your provider adjusts based on how you respond and what side effects you report.
Refills work through your patient portal: you request one, the prescribing provider reviews it, and if approved the pharmacy fills it — no new visit required unless something has changed. When a prescription has no refills left, the provider decides whether to renew it.
What it costs
The consultation is free. The medication is self-pay — compounded peptides are not covered by insurance — and priced per vial or per pen. Prices are visible once you sign in, and your provider will tell you how many vials a protocol needs before you commit.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Do I need a diagnosis to be prescribed peptides?
You need a legitimate clinical reason and a provider who agrees the peptide is appropriate for you, which is broader than a formal diagnosis. Recovery, body composition, sleep, and metabolic goals are all discussed at the consultation; the provider decides what is medically appropriate.
Can I use my insurance?
Compounded peptides are almost never covered by insurance, so they are self-pay. The consultation at G1 is free; the medication and shipping are the cost.
What states can G1 prescribe in?
Telehealth prescribing follows the laws of the state you are physically in at the time of the visit. G1's booking tool only shows providers licensed for your state, so if you can book, you can be seen.
SOURCES
This article is educational and is not medical advice. Peptides are prescription medications; whether any of them is appropriate for you is a decision for a licensed provider who knows your history.