Online GLP-1 prescribing often skips clinician interaction, study finds

A new “secret shopper” study published in JAMA has raised concerns about the oversight of online vendors prescribing glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), the popular class of drugs used for diabetes and weight management.

Researchers found that many online GLP-1 RA prescription vendors did not require any interaction with a clinician, instead relying largely on patient-reported questionnaires. According to the study, these questionnaires may fail to capture important elements of a patient’s clinical and social history.

Several findings pointed to limited safety oversight. Investigators observed multiple GLP-1 RA prescriptions being issued by the same clinicians, prescriptions granted even when required photos were missing, and prescriptions completed in five minutes or less.

The findings add to growing scrutiny of the direct-to-consumer telehealth market, which has expanded rapidly alongside surging demand for weight-loss and diabetes medications.

The study’s corresponding author is Reshma Ramachandran, MD, MPP, MHS, of Yale University. The full study is available in JAMA (doi:10.1001/jama.2026.9131).