Rose was able to use AI to craft images that made her look different and gain access to weight loss drugs in New Zealand. Photo \/ RNZ, Unsplash, Screenshot<\/p>\n
I should mention a key detail: Rose says she has a history of disordered eating, including periods of bingeing and restrictive eating to the point of fatigue and hair loss.<\/p>\n
\u200bShe submitted the AI image to Well Revolution, a New Zealand-based digital healthcare provider, as part of her lie to justify a Wegovy prescription that included filling out an extensive health questionnaire. <\/p>\n
Within minutes of typing a few messages \u2013 no phone call, no video conference \u2013 to the service\u2019s AI chatbot and then someone who identified themselves as a doctor, she had a prescription for Wegovy. (Rose also showed me her chat history with Well Revolution during our video call. The doctor expressed some scepticism about Rose\u2019s weight, but ultimately decided to prescribe Wegovy).<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cI had never expected it to even work. I didn\u2019t think it would be this easy to even get a prescription to begin with,\u201d Rose told me in an earlier interview.<\/p>\n
Well Revolution did not respond to requests for comment submitted by email and chat function.<\/p>\n
\u200bRose\u2019s story illustrates some of the loose prescribing practices for Wegovy since it was launched in New Zealand on July 1, 2025. <\/p>\n
Yet, digital healthcare providers fill a vital gap in a healthcare system stretched thin by staff shortages, especially in rural areas. Other patients say they turned to digital health providers after their GPs expressed a bias against using weight-loss medications.<\/p>\n
For years, New Zealanders watched the class of drugs known as GLP-1s trigger a radical shift in obesity treatment. However, some patients also reported intolerable side-effects and nutrition deficiencies.<\/p>\n
GPs and weight-loss doctors were initially the main prescribers in New Zealand, until digital healthcare providers entered the market. Within weeks, trained pharmacists were able to prescribe Wegovy and later Mounjaro.<\/p>\n
Lindy, a woman in her 50s who lives on the West Coast, went to three doctors in person before turning to digital healthcare provider Moshy, which specialises in weight loss. <\/p>\n
She had a BMI over 35, which is well above the minimum for a GLP-1 prescription of 30, or 27 if a patient has a weight-related disease like diabetes.<\/p>\n
The first doctor told Lindy she would never prescribe Wegovy because of the potential side-effects, such as diarrhoea, vomiting and unending nausea. Studies show between 15 and 25% of patients discontinue use because of side-effects.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me I should just drink more bone broth to help keep me full. That was her solution to me and I just left going, \u2018Are you serious?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The other doctors referred her to a dietitian or advised her to exercise more, approaches she says she had already tried for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think they don\u2019t understand the difficulty it is to actually lose the weight in the normal traditional way,\u201d Lindy said. She blames part of her weight gain on the hormone disruption of menopause.<\/p>\n
She booked a video call consultation with Moshy. A doctor discussed the possible side-effects and prescribed Wegovy, which was delivered to her home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no judgment. I didn\u2019t leave feeling like crap, basically,\u201d Lindy says, adding that she has felt \u201crelatively\u201d supported by the Moshy doctor since that initial video call.<\/p>\n
Dr Luke Bradford, medical director of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, says that GPs have \u201crapidly upskilled in their safe use and monitoring\u201d of GLP-1s. <\/p>\n
He says weight loss care should always be holistic and include diet and exercise support rather than revolve around a specific medication. However, patients should challenge a doctor when they don\u2019t feel heard and if necessary, seek a second opinion, he says.<\/p>\n
When it comes to prescribing medications like Wegovy through digital health services using the chat function, Dr Joe Bourne, chief medical officer at the Ministry of Health, doesn\u2019t flag the practice as illegal or inappropriate. <\/p>\n
He notes that an in-person consultation \u201cmay be expected when a patient is getting a prescription for a product for the first time\u201d. <\/p>\n
Dr Francis Katoa the Medical Director NZ at Moshy stressed the need for specialist practitioners for prescribing GLP-1 weight loss treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey understand the benefits, limitations and risks of these medicines, and they are trained to identify when treatment is appropriate, when it is not, and what ongoing support is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Telehealth guidelines from the Medical Council of New Zealand state that \u201cpatients requiring repeat prescriptions should be assessed in person on a regular basis\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u200bDr Farkhondeh Hassandoust from the University of Auckland, who studies digital health services in New Zealand, does not believe \u201chigh-risk\u201d medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro should be prescribed via telehealth. <\/p>\n
However, she says digital health plays an important role in New Zealand\u2019s strained healthcare system by reducing travel, improving access and helping some patients feel less judged than they do in face-to-face settings.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cDigital … can easily support triage, reminders, education, follow-ups, and ongoing self-management,\u201d she later added.<\/p>\n
\u200bHassandoust\u2019s research has also found some patients are more willing to disclose sensitive information to chatbots or online services before they feel comfortable telling a doctor.<\/p>\n
\u200bRose says she had to initiate a follow-up with Well Revolution when her dose for Wegovy increased (patients typically start on a low dose and increase over time). <\/p>\n
She reported experiencing acne through the website\u2019s chat function and soon received a prescription for medication to treat acne, without further questions from a doctor.<\/p>\n
\u200bWhen I asked her why she spoke to me about how she got her prescription, Rose told me it was possibly a roundabout way to shut down her access to Wegovy. It was also out of concern for young women in the pro-eating disorder community who often congregate online.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cIt just makes me sad seeing other people destroying themselves in the same way that I\u2019m destroying myself and don\u2019t feel good about, but also I can\u2019t stop myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
– RNZ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rose was able to use AI to craft images that made her look different and gain access to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[274],"tags":[2055,829,18,135,25513,19,17,240960,462,240961,41659,84169,240962,119388,31178,9384],"class_list":["post-564467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-about","tag-and","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-her","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lied","tag-medication","tag-prescribed","tag-serena","tag-she","tag-solomon","tag-was","tag-weight","tag-weightloss"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116848200418261923","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}