BY EMILY LINCKE & JESSICA SHORTEN
Diving in deeper
What else?
50% of the population.” Balette said the majority of patients he sees seek surgery as a weight loss option after using semaglu- tides for a number of reasons including: • High cost of semaglutides • Unwanted side effects • No response to use
Balette said he believes the shift to weight loss medications has led to an increase in bariatric surgeries. “We see that wave has been something that’s been a fairly noticeable trend over the last six to 12 months,” Balette said. “When you look at the data, the society that we live in has an obesity rate of over 30%, and if you look at the projec- tions going to 2040-2050, it starts pushing up to
As of late December, the FDA has yet to issue a decision on the restriction of compounding semaglutides. However, prescriptions of semaglutides among adult populations are still coming mainly through primary care physicians, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. 2024 semaglutide prescription types According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the majority of adults receive semaglutide prescriptions from their primary care providers.
Bariatric surgery trends, 2016-22 200K
Gastric sleeve Revision surgery Other Sleeve
While data regarding the usage of bariatric surgeries such as the gastric sleeve and gastric bypass is only available through 2022, doctors say demand has remained consistently high through 2024.
11% Online provider 10% Medical spa center 2% Other
79% Primary care physician
160,609
150K
125,318
100K
30,894 26,367 62,097
40,316 30,077 19,995
50K
0
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
SOURCE: KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT NOTE: KFF STUDY EQUATES TO 102% INSTEAD OF 100% DUE TO ROUNDING
SOURCE: AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR METABOLIC AND BARIATRIC SURGERY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Stay tuned
still in a realm of disease bias against obesity care.” Changes in the ability to recreate semaglutide compounds could impact the cost of FDA- approved medications; however, the extent of the impact was not clear as of press time.
reduction in price of the FDA-approved GLP-1 medications—whose safety and efficacy we know—by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of the medications and requiring Medicare and commercial insurance providers to provide access to these medications for obesity just as they provide access to them for diabetes. Without these changes, we are
While several doctors share concerns over the efficacy of semaglutides as a weight loss tool for those struggling with diet and exercise, Horn said one of the main concerns remaining is the cost of GLP-1s for the general public. “Our goal should not be to rationalize use of compounded GLP-1s,” Horn said. “Our energy should be spent requiring the
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION
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