Part 1: Supporting Safe and Sustainable Weight Loss With GLP-1s – Finding the right remote health technologies

Exploring the Surge in Remote GLP-1 Prescription Access

New medications like GLP-1 agonists offer a promising tool to help patients achieve a healthy weight. But supporting patients in long-term weight loss with GLP-1 remote patient monitoring involves more than medication. “Obesity is a complex, chronic medical condition that requires comprehensive care. GLP-1 medications are powerful tools in the obesity medicine toolkit, but they must be paired with lifestyle counseling and medical oversight for success & safety,” said Lauren Lemieux, MD, FACP, Dipl. ABOM at FORM, a virtual obesity medicine clinic that empowers patients with obesity to take control of their health through a personalized weight loss plan.

Uncertainties persist regarding the long-term effectiveness of these medications and the best approach to determine which patients can safely discontinue the medication while maintaining weight loss, and which patients would benefit from a prolonged therapy regimen. As we continue to learn more about GLP-1 agonists, daily measurement of biometrics such as weight, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate, sleep patterns, and body composition is particularly critical to making informed care decisions.

The rise in remote prescribing of GLP-1 medications reflects a broader trend toward telemedicine and GLP-1 remote patient monitoring, which is driven by technological advancements and the need for increased care access. Healthcare teams continue to face challenges in treating and managing patients remotely, including:

1. Limited to no regular physical patient assessment
2. Low patient engagement and communication in their treatment plan
3. Technical issues with devices and unreliable data measurements
4. Inability to correlate long-term data patterns with intervention strategies

Bridge the virtual care gap. Adopt smarter healthtech.

Care teams don’t always need more technology. They need smarter technology that improves their ability to provide better patient care. Withings offers a range of digital health solutions, from connected health devices like cellular scales and blood pressure monitors to an all-in-one self service remote patient monitoring platform. These solutions directly address many of the technological barriers of virtual care.

In a March 2024 survey, Withings asked their database of device users about their experience with GLP-1 treatments. Nearly a quarter of respondents reported taking GLP-1s, with a significant majority (93%) being prescribed healthy habits alongside their treatment. 60% of users noted biomarker changes associated with their GLP-1 regimen and 76% reported Withings products had a positive influence on their treatment journey.

Withings newest cellular scale, Body Pro 2, combines habit-forming user features with a pioneering modular approach to manage chronic conditions like obesity. Its core capabilities allow care teams to capture advanced health metrics such as weight and body composition, while additional features can track advanced and clinically validated biomarkers typically only available in a professional setting.

Withings Health Solutions simplifies access to long-term patient data, resulting in improved support GLP-1 remote patient monitoring and faster decision-making for treatments and care strategies.

Part 2: Learn why measuring body composition is key for patients on GLP-1s

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