How to choose a GLP-1 provider
Few prescription therapies are marketed online as heavily as GLP-1 medications, and the market reflects it: licensed telehealth clinics, med spas, and anonymous websites all advertise the same drug names at wildly different prices. The names look identical. The standards behind them are not. This guide covers what GLP-1 medications are, the difference between branded and compounded versions, what a legitimate prescribing process looks like, and the questions that separate real medical care from a checkout page.
Reviewed by —Daniel Uba, MD, Chief Medical OfficerFirst, what GLP-1 medications actually are
GLP-1 receptor agonists are medications modeled on glucagon-like-peptide-1, a hormone your gut releases after you eat. They act on the same receptors: slowing how quickly the stomach empties, supporting the body’s insulin response, and influencing the appetite signaling that drives what many patients describe as constant “food noise.” The two molecules you’ll encounter are semaglutide and tirzepatide. Whether either is appropriate for you — and which one — is a clinician’s decision after an individual evaluation, and any benefit is a goal to discuss with them, not a promise a website can make.
Here is the distinction that matters most when you shop: the same molecules exist in two forms. Branded products — semaglutide as Ozempic and Wegovy, tirzepatide as Mounjaro and Zepbound — are FDA-approved drugs made by commercial manufacturers, with the agency reviewing the specific product you receive. Compounded versions are prepared by licensed compounding pharmacies based on a prescription; the active ingredient is the same, but the finished product is not FDA-approved, and its quality rests on the specific pharmacy that made it. Neither form is automatically the wrong choice — but you should always know which one you are getting and which pharmacy made it, because that determines who stands behind the vial.
One more thing an honest provider screens for before anything ships: GLP-1 therapy is not appropriate for everyone. A history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2, current pregnancy or breastfeeding, and active pancreatitis are reasons a clinician will say no. A provider that never asks about any of this is not evaluating you.
What a legitimate process looks like, end to end
Semaglutide and tirzepatide are prescription medications in the United States. That means a real provider runs a real clinical process, and each step exists for a reason:
- 1
Medical intake. You share your health history, medications, and goals — including the contraindications above. This is the context a clinician needs before anything else happens.
- 2
Bloodwork. Labs establish your metabolic baseline. Without them, there is nothing objective for a clinician to evaluate or to measure against later.
- 3
Licensed clinician evaluation. A clinician licensed in your state reviews your intake and labs together and decides whether GLP-1 therapy is appropriate for you.
- 4
Prescription at the clinician’s discretion. If — and only if — the clinician decides it’s appropriate, they issue a prescription. Paying for an evaluation never guarantees one.
- 5
A named, licensed pharmacy. You’re told whether your medication is branded or compounded and which licensed US pharmacy dispenses it, so you can verify its license yourself.
- 6
Ongoing care. Follow-up labs, clinician check-ins, protocol adjustments, and a way to ask questions between visits. GLP-1 care continues for as long as the therapy does.
Any provider missing one of these steps is asking you to accept less than the standard of care. Our guide to licensed clinics vs research-grade sellers covers the difference in more depth.
Seven questions to ask any GLP-1 provider
These work on any provider, including us. Good ones answer all seven without flinching.
- 1
Who evaluates me, and are they licensed in my state?
A legitimate provider can name the type of clinician who reviews your case — physician, nurse practitioner, or physician associate — and confirm they hold a license in the state where you live. Telehealth rules are state-by-state, so “our medical team” with no specifics is not an answer. Ask directly, and expect a direct reply.
- 2
Am I getting a branded drug or a compounded version — and from which pharmacy?
This is the GLP-1-specific question, and a provider should answer it in one sentence. Branded products come from a commercial manufacturer through a retail or specialty pharmacy. Compounded versions come from a licensed US 503A compounding pharmacy, which the provider should name so you can verify its license with the state board of pharmacy. Vague answers about “our pharmacy partner” mean you can’t verify anything about your supply chain.
- 3
Do you require labs before prescribing?
GLP-1 therapy is metabolic medicine, and a clinician cannot evaluate your metabolic health from a questionnaire alone. Providers that skip bloodwork entirely are skipping the part of the process that makes it individualized care. Ask what markers they look at and whether you can submit recent labs you already have.
- 4
Is a prescription guaranteed?
The correct answer is no. GLP-1 medications have real contraindications — a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, for one — and a real evaluation sometimes ends in a no. If every applicant who pays gets a prescription, no screening is happening, and the “consultation” is paperwork around a sale.
- 5
What does the full price include?
Get the total monthly figure in writing: medication, clinician access, shipping, and any membership or platform fee. GLP-1 pricing is where hidden fees cluster — some providers advertise a low first-month price that steps up sharply, or add consult fees and mandatory add-ons at checkout. If the pricing page and the checkout page disagree, believe the checkout page.
- 6
What ongoing care comes after the first shipment?
GLP-1 therapy is not a one-time purchase — it involves ongoing clinical judgment. Ask how you reach a clinician with questions, how side effects get handled, whether follow-up labs are part of the plan, and how the protocol gets adjusted over time. “Reorder anytime” is a fulfillment answer, not a care answer.
- 7
What happens when I want to stop?
Ask about cancellation before you start: whether there’s a fee, a minimum commitment, or an auto-renewal that’s hard to switch off. Also ask whether a clinician is available to talk through stopping or tapering — a provider confident in its service doesn’t need to lock you in.
Red flags that should end the conversation
No prescriber anywhere in the process
If you can add a GLP-1 to a cart and check out without a clinician ever reviewing your health history, you are not buying medical care. You are buying a chemical.
“Research use only” labels on product sold to people
That label exists to sidestep prescription and pharmacy rules. Substances sold this way are not intended for human use, and no licensed clinician or pharmacy stands behind what’s in the vial.
A provider that won’t say whether the product is branded or compounded
This distinction determines which pharmacy made your medication and which rules govern it. A provider that blurs it — or implies a compounded product is FDA-approved — is misrepresenting what you’re buying.
Guaranteed prescriptions or promised results
Legitimate providers promise a fair evaluation, not an outcome. Specific weight-loss numbers on a sales page are marketing, not medicine — how any patient responds is individual.
Dosing instructions on a sales page
Dosing is a clinical decision made for you by your prescriber. A website that publishes one-size-fits-all dosing guidance is telling you no clinician is involved.
How Meto approaches each point
We built Meto around the process above, so the seven questions have short answers here. Licensed clinicians evaluate every patient, and prescriptions are always at their discretion — completing an intake does not guarantee one, and the contraindications above are screened for every time. Every protocol starts with bloodwork: the $149 one-time peptide readiness panel (or upload recent labs). Compounded prescriptions are filled by licensed US 503A compounding pharmacies, and the dispensing pharmacy’s details arrive with your medication so you can verify its license with the state board of pharmacy.
Meto’s GLP-1 protocol (Semaglutide or tirzepatide, $199–349/mo) is compounded — we say so plainly, because you should know what you’re getting. Whether GLP-1 therapy fits your case, and which molecule if so, is your clinician’s call after reviewing your labs. When it is prescribed, it runs alongside the rest of your Meto protocol rather than as a standalone transaction — same care team, same lab cadence, same account.
Pricing is two line items: the protocol, and a $29/mo membership that covers quarterly clinician consults and unlimited care-team messaging. Cold-chain shipping is included, you can cancel anytime from your account with no cancellation fee, and protocols are HSA/FSA eligible. Every number is published on our pricing page — if a fee isn’t there, we don’t charge it. For the wider landscape, our comparison hub lines Meto up against other providers point by point.
Compounded medications are prepared by licensed pharmacies based on a prescription and are not FDA-approved. Prescriptions are issued at a licensed clinician’s discretion after an individual evaluation — completing an intake does not guarantee a prescription. Patients receive the dispensing pharmacy’s details with their medication, which can be verified with the relevant state board of pharmacy.