When the medicine isn't enough: Why GLP-1s need a digital lifeline

Last weekend, my mum told me about a family friend who’d finally started one of the new GLP‑1 medications. She had every clinical indication. She hoped the injection would help her lose the weight she had battled with for years.

So when my mum asked if she’d lost any weight, the disappointing answer was “𝘕𝘰, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺.” My mum asked: “𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦? 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵? 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴? 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵?” Again, a "𝘕𝘰."

No change. No digital companion. No coaching. No tracking. Just the jab, and hope. This got me thinking and found that:

𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲

• In the UK, digital platforms supporting GLP‑1 use led to significantly improved weight loss outcomes.

• In Australia, patients using digital tools stayed on the medication for a median of 115 days, about 4 months.

• Contrast that with the U.S., where only 1 in 4 patients still take Wegovy or Ozempic after two years.

That’s not a failure of the drug. That’s a failure of follow-through.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱?

• Remote onboarding and education to start patients off right.

• Daily logs and nudges to keep the habit alive.

• Quick check-ins with clinicians by video or phone, every few weeks.

• Smart inventory monitoring, to avoid the “sorry, we’re out” message at the pharmacy.

This isn’t futuristic. We have the tech readily available and it’s happening now. It’s scalable and when done right, it works.

What isn’t working is the wait-and-see approach. Hoping a GLP‑1 can carry the load alone without support, without infrastructure, without accountability, isn’t strategy. It’s risk, wasted investments, frustrated patients, and avoidable system strain.

There's no doubt that GLP‑1s are redefining the medical treatment of obesity. But to redefine care, they must be paired with digital ecosystems that are just as thoughtfully designed.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝗜’𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?

I would’ve said: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯. 𝘈 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘈 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱.