GLP-1 Demand Is High. So What's Getting Between Patients and Their Next Prescription?

User Barrier #1: Complex paths to access and affordability

Consider a scenario many GLP-1 patients will recognize: A patient decides to start treatment and turns to a manufacturer’s direct-to-patient platform to get started. The cash price gives them pause, so they enter their insurance information, expecting their plan to help cover the cost. Their plan requires prior authorization, and after several days of waiting while their prescriber’s office submits the request, coverage is denied. While skimming online message boards, they learn of a discount program, but it’s for a different form of the drug. They return to their prescriber to adjust the prescription and begin the access process again, fingers crossed.
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Each detour costs patients time, energy, and motivation, making patients more likely to abandon the process before first fill.

Direct-to-patient platforms are well positioned to solve this. Manufacturers built them in part to simplify access and give patients a clearer route to therapy, and the stakes extend well beyond the first fill. A patient who reaches an affordable prescription with confidence is more likely to stay on treatment, and persistence drives both health outcomes and long-term value for manufacturers.

How behavior design improves patient access and affordability

Obviously, we want to make it easy—well, as easy as possible. But the trickier thing is getting patients to invest their effort when there’s no guarantee. Reducing friction helps, but reducing uncertainty matters even more, because patients are far more willing to invest effort when they can see where it leads.

Behavior design starts with the decision a patient faces at each step. In access and affordability, the central challenge is effort under uncertainty. Reducing friction helps, and reducing uncertainty matters even more, because patients are far more willing to invest effort when they can see where it leads.

In scenarios like this, the most effective lever is reducing uncertainty by bringing information forward.

Help patients proactively identify their likely access options before they begin a lengthy process. Clearly explain eligibility requirements and potential out-of-pocket costs. Show what happens after a denial, rather than leaving patients at a dead end. And throughout, set expectations about timing, documentation, and what might require prescriber involvement.

User Barrier #2: Patients need more than automated reminders to refill

When a patient moves up to a new dose strength, they may develop unpleasant side effects, such as digestive issues, thinning hair, or increased anxiety. They expect that messaging their prescriber will only lead to a request to schedule another appointment. When it comes time to refill, despite all the reminders, they make conclude the treatment isn’t right for them, they stop taking it.

GLP-1s, as well as many other therapies, involve a titration schedule where doses are slowly changed over time. As their response to therapy changes, patients are quick to stop or search out their own information in online communities. Online boards are filled with tapering schedules and side effect hacks. While these sources are not validated by medical professionals, they are highly trusted. Patients feel validated that they’re not the only ones experiencing this and love the practical answers from people with firsthand experience.

For manufacturers, these moments directly shape persistence. When a patient starts questioning whether their therapy is working, another refill reminder isn't going to solve the problem. They need timely, trustworthy support that helps them understand what's happening and what to do next.

How behavior design improves persistence

Behavior design looks at the decision a patient is making in each moment.During titration, patients weigh what they’re experiencing now against the benefit they expect later. Side effects are immediate and tangible, while progress can feel slow or invisible. Designing for persistence means supporting patients at the moments when that balance is most likely to tip.

Alongside scheduled reminders, consider proactive check-ins around dose changes or periods when side effects are more likely. Offer credible, accessible information that acknowledges what patients are experiencing. And help patients reflect on chnges they’ve experienced, recognize meaningful milestones, and connect their progress to personal goals.These moments create opportunities to address concerns before patients disengage.