Therapeutic Goods Administration investigates Juniper and Mosh prescribing weight loss injection Saxenda
Online telehealth companies are advertising they can prescribe popular weight loss injections without patients ever having to talk to a doctor in real time.
Australia’s medicines regulator has raised concerns that online telehealth companies are advertising they can prescribe popular weight loss injections without patients ever having to talk to a doctor in real time.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration is investigating whether advertising by telehealth outfits – which prescribe the weight loss injectable drug Saxenda – is compliant with federal law that bans the advertising of medicines to consumers.
Saxenda has exploded in popularity among consumers who cannot access the diabetes drug Ozempic, which has been the subject of an ongoing supply shortage. Many people who are accessing Saxenda are doing so via subscription services offered by telehealth start-ups Juniper and Mosh. Both market a “medical weight-loss solution” in which prescriptions are provided purely on the basis of an online quiz.
Patients are directed to the websites of the telehealth companies via social media and online ads. Juniper advertises a “new daily medication” that will “overhaul hunger hormones” for “just $13 a day”.
“Reset your metabolism to lose weight for good,” says Juniper’s website. “Lose 10-15 per cent of your body weight in one year” with “doctor-prescribed medication and dietitian support”.
People are then directed to take a “quiz” answering questions about their health, medications and are asked to give details of their weight and height. The quiz is reviewed remotely by a doctor who determines whether the person is eligible to be prescribed Saxenda. If so, they are advised by email and can subscribe to the program, with the drug mailed to their home.
Mosh provides a similar service prescribing Saxenda at $13 a day.
If a person does not immediately purchase the drug, Mosh sends follow-up emails asking them why, while offering patients a 10 per cent discount, among other incentives.
One Juniper ad promoted on the online forum Reddit shows someone squeezing their bare stomach, as though they just used an injection. Above it, are the words: “How weight loss injections work to reset your metabolism – here’s the average weight loss you can expect with this medication”.
A video on Mosh’s Facebook page shows clips of celebrities discussing a “weight loss wonder drug” including Joe Rogan and Elon Musk but then states “for real advice, you should talk to a Mosh doctor”.
Juniper, whose services are aimed at women, was founded by technology company Eucalyptus, and Mosh, which is aimed at men, was founded by two former management consultants and also offers services in hair loss, erectile dysfunction, mental health and skin care.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has labelled the telehealth services a “recipe for disaster” given no checks are undertaken to ensure patients have given accurate information in online “quizzes” that results in the prescription of a drug. The drug carries side effects and can interact with other medicines.
“I strongly advise against using them, particularly since it appears patients are able to obtain a prescription by inputting height and weight information without actually speaking to a qualified doctor,” Dr Nicole Higgins said.
“When it comes to healthcare you are far better off being careful and consulting with a GP you know and trust. This is not as straightforward as ordering a pizza or a new pair of shoes.”
The TGA told The Australian Juniper and Mosh’s weight loss services and marketing tactics “raise a number of considerations”.
“We are concerned about business models that employ marketing strategies to influence health care choices made by Australians without first having consulted with a health professional in real time,” a TGA spokesperson said.
The regulator said in response to questions about one of the ads that whether it was compliant with advertising regulations “will require further investigation”.
But Juniper and Mosh have defended the quality of the healthcare provided. They also defended their advertising as compliant with the law and said they would make adjustments based on the TGA’s concerns.
Eucalyptus chief executive Tim Doyle said Juniper had checks and balances in place including an extremely detailed questionnaire, which was data-analysed for discrepancies, followed by a text-based back and forth between patient and doctor. Doctors could also request photos of patients, he said.
A Mosh spokesperson said when the patient-doctor interaction was purely text-based, they could “mitigate the risk of fraud” by getting patients to submit photos to verify their body weight and said both parties could ask “probing questions in an interactive manner”.
The Medical Board of Australia is set to revise its guidelines due to concerns about the quality of care by telehealth outfits.
The Board does not support “prescribing or providing healthcare for a patient with whom you have never consulted, whether face to-face, via video or telephone”.