Let’s stop pretending there is a simple answer to GLP-1s

Rapidly growing consumer demand for new obesity medications including GLP-1s requires those of us in the business of helping people manage chronic health needs to account for these drugs as part of an evolving standard of care. 

The new class of weight loss medications are truly transformative for some people – but they won’t be right for every person, every time.  

Consumer demand is driving a rapid response from solutions and providers, but the rush to accommodate carries risk –risks of impersonal, one-size-fits-all solutions with low engagement and impaired outcomes. 

One thing we do know: Oversimplifying the problem isn’t going to get us anywhere closer to better utilization of these medications.  

Helping people achieve and maintain weight loss and improved health requires a deeply personalized approach that connects people with the right level of care and support for each individual. It’s not easy, but it’s an approach that is proven to work – and we’re getting smarter every day about how to help people stick with these programs.  

Solving for access issues is going to require the same mentality.  

We can help people approach the decision to use these weight loss medications with personalized support that provides the necessary behavior change mechanisms to ensure longer-term success. Using data collection and intelligence, we can learn how to better predict and recommend the right path to each person alongside the right support.  

Helping people manage these medications as part of a coordinated approach to behavior change can further improve outcomes and reduce the total medication burden over time. 

Gatekeeping, prescribing, and describing will all get a lot of attention, especially due to the costs of these medications, but the individual and their unique health needs at either end of their journey with a GLP-1 must remain at the center of any solution. 

We’ve been paying close attention to the research and to what we are hearing from both our members and our clients to help ensure weight loss success with and without medication support.   Dario will continue to differentiate through personalized support that uses the best available tools to optimize outcomes for our members and clients.