Highlights
LifeMD, a telehealth company promoted by GLP-1 drugmaker Novo Nordisk, has urged its clinicians to see more patients and mete out prescriptions more rapidly, while providing little screening and follow-up, alleged five former employees in interviews and two lawsuits filed by former top leaders.
The company, which strenuously denies the allegations, is part of a sprawling, loosely regulated industry of GLP-1 telehealth companies that experts say has been boosted by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
As competition between telehealth companies grows and more powerful obesity drugs come to the market, experts fear lax clinical oversight means some patients could be at greater risk of developing potentially serious side effects.
Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, lists the telehealth company LifeMD on its website as a provider that offers “legitimate medicine sourcing and patient support” for people seeking GLP-1 drugs. But some former employees describe LifeMD differently, as a company that has sought to maximize the volume of prescriptions it doles out at the expense of patient safety.
