Researchers found that nearly half of GLP-1 telehealth websites failed to adequately disclose safety information. Here's what proper disclosure looks like — and how to use it to choose a trustworthy provider.
Key Takeaway: Inadequate risk disclosure is a patient safety issue, not just a marketing problem. When providers hide contraindications or minimize side effect information, patients can't make informed decisions. The solution isn't to avoid telehealth GLP-1 programs — it's to know what good disclosure looks like and demand it from any provider you consider.
A study published in JAMA examined websites of direct-to-consumer GLP-1 telehealth providers to assess the quality of safety and risk information presented to prospective patients. The researchers evaluated whether sites disclosed key safety information including contraindications, black box warnings, potential side effects, required monitoring, and the non-FDA-approved status of compounded formulations.
The findings were striking: approximately 49% of sites reviewed failed to adequately disclose one or more major safety categories. Contraindications — the conditions that make GLP-1 drugs inappropriate for some patients — were the most commonly omitted category. Many sites focused exclusively on benefits and weight loss results, with risk information buried in fine print terms-and-conditions documents that patients were unlikely to read during the signup process.
The study also found significant variation in how clearly sites communicated the difference between compounded and FDA-approved brand-name medications. Some sites used language that implied or suggested FDA approval for their compounded products — a misleading framing that the FDA explicitly prohibits.
It might seem like aggressive marketing without risk disclosure is just a business decision. It's not — it's a patient safety issue. Here's why:
GLP-1 drugs have real contraindications. Patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma in their personal or family history, patients with a history of serious pancreatitis, and patients who are pregnant should not use these medications. When sites omit this information or make it difficult to find, patients who should be screened out may sign up without realizing their risk.
Similarly, patients who aren't told about the difference between compounded and brand-name medications may not realize they're receiving a non-FDA-approved product — relevant information for informed consent. Our article on the legal status of compounded semaglutide covers this in detail.
We feature providers with thorough intake evaluations and honest safety disclosures — like this site does itself.
Based on FDA requirements and the medical community's standards for informed consent, here's what every reputable GLP-1 provider should disclose clearly — not buried in terms of service, but accessible during the signup and consultation process:
It might seem counterintuitive that leading with risks and contraindications is good for business. Our experience — and the experience of providers who have built trust-based practices — suggests the opposite: patients who go through thorough intake and informed consent processes are more likely to be appropriate candidates, more likely to adhere to the protocol, and more likely to have good outcomes.
Patients who discover risk information after signing up, or who experience side effects they weren't warned about, are more likely to feel deceived, request refunds, leave negative reviews, and lose trust in both their specific provider and the broader category. Transparency isn't just ethics — it's smart business.
This is the philosophy behind our "radical transparency" approach on this site. We put FDA warnings and safety information prominently at the top of every page — not because we're required to, but because informed patients make better decisions and have better outcomes. See our full contraindications guide for the complete picture.
Eden Health's intake process includes full contraindication screening and transparent communication about their compounded formulations.
Explore Eden Health →All claims sourced from peer-reviewed publications, FDA documents, or named research programs. No Fluff. Just Sources.
Full disclosure · Physician oversight