Physician-Guided Weight Loss - No Subscription or Extra Fee
Common Medications offered
In consultation with the doctor, you may be offered FDA-approved weight loss medications including:
- Wegovy (semaglutide) - oral tablets or injectible
- Zepbound (tirzepatide) - injectible
- Foundayo (orforglipron) - oral tablets
- Qsymia (phentermine/topiramate) - oral capsules
- Contrave (bupropion/naltrexone) - oral capsules
- Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine) - oral capsules / tablets
- generic medications such as phentermine, bupropion, topiramate or metformin
insurance covers GLP-1 Medication for certain diagnoses
GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist medications primarily used for the following FDA-approved indications:
Ozempic (semaglutide)
- Type 2 Diabetes: history of an A1c above 6.5
- Chronic Kidney Disease in people with Type 2 Diabetes
Mounjaro (tirzepatide)
- Type 2 Diabetes: history of an A1c above 6.5
- Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: approved for adults with prior heart attack, stroke or peripheral artery disease to reduce future events.
Wegovy (semaglutide)
- Chronic Weight Management: age 12 and older
- Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: approved for adults with prior heart attack, stroke or peripheral artery disease to reduce future events.
- Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH): liver disease with moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis (scarring).
Zepbound (tirzepatide)
- Chronic Weight Management: age 18 and up
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): approved for moderate-to-severe OSA in adults with obesity
At Pandora Family Medicine, we offer physician-guided weight loss that works by combining healthy nutrition, fitness, behavior change and FDA-approved medication. Rather than offering pricey subscriptions, we encourage you to use your insurance to cover visits and prescriptions.
When you being weight loss journey you can expect:
1. A one hour initial visit. During this visit you can plan to discuss:
· Your weight, complete set of vitals, medical history, current medications, and health concerns
· Your personal history of any metabolic, cardiovascular or musculoskeletal diagnoses
· Your personal weight loss goals (ex. percentage of body weight loss or pounds you wish to lose)
· Diet and exercise recommendations
· Collection of Baseline labs
2. A thirty minute follow-up visit. You can plan on a second visit within 5-10 days to discuss:
· Review of lab results and recommendations based on your lab values
· Medication selection including GLP-1 medications, Contrave, Qsymia, phentermine and others
· Expected rate of weight loss over time (ex. pounds/week)
· Insurance coverage and cost
· Completion of a Prior Authorization form specific to your insurance
· Patient saving programs (ex. Savings cards, self-pay programs etc.)
· Appropriate patients may get a Free Sample of medication (Wegovy, Zepbound or Foundayo) and initiation of first dose in office
3. Monthly follow-up visits. You can expect to discuss:
· Dose increase and titration schedule
· Your personal experience with side effects and treatment to reduce adverse effects
· Use of obesity management medication for long term health benefits and risk reduction
· Trend of labs over time
Prior Authorizations Policy: If you have a medical diagnosis, the team at Pandora Family Medicine will fight to get your prior authorization approved.
- A Prior Authorization will usually will be done at your second visit after your initial consultation
- You do not pay extra for the team do attempt a prior authorization
- Note: there is no way to guarantee coverage, but we do work hard to get your medicine
Regular Check-in Policy: You are expected to have monthly followup visits for increasing your dose to a stable level. After about 4-5 months, you will be eligible for 90 day refills.
Refill Policy: Refills and dose increases require a scheduled visit for official documentation and a claim submitted to insurance. No exceptions.
Controlled Substances Policy: Proper assessment and monthly monitoring will be needed for patients on controlled stimulant medications.