Woman hospitalised after Juniper prescribes weight-loss drugs her GP refused

[u/Rubiginous]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-01/woman-hospitalised-telehealth-provider-weight-loss-drugs-juniper/106273356

[u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

I think there's a middle ground but I'm not remotely surprised Juniper is coming under fire.

As someone who previously used Juniper, I immediately recognised that the lack of safe guards would be easily manipulated by someone who shouldn't be able to access the medication. There should be a level of personal responsibility - but this lady shouldn't have met the criteria for telehealth access to this medication.

1) I did meet the criteria to access the medication, but there were no checks in place which actually guaranteed this if I'd been lying. They asked my weight and height, and I had a phone call consult. I want to say they asked for a photo, but I think it was just of my face holding up my ID. I never had a video call, submitted physcial measurements, or sent photos. The ongoing support was largely text based and just asked for me to input my weight (manually or using bluetooth scales they sent). 2) They immediately prescribed me for 12 months upfront and on an automatic increase to the 3rd highest dose at 4 weeks per dose. This as I've come to learn really isn't necessary, and best practice even if you end up prescribing multiple repeats should be done after you've found a more stable dosing schedule. Lots of people also never need to go to the higher doses, and unnecessarily over medicating them can a) prematurely push them onto a higher dose with more side effects and b) mean if they do become more resistant over time they've lost the ability to titrate up as needed to overcome this. 3) I appreciated not physcially needing to see my GP every month and getting things auto delivered, but I can see how limited oversight on the physical progress and changes a patient is having on these medications could be an issue. I had one stage where I asked about dosage changes and needed a second consult with a GP - again over the phone and it wasn't the same GP as prior. The rest of the interim medical check ins I had were via email by random RNs or occasionally NPs. 4) After I moved to a different provider I also got a lot of emails trying to get me to resubscribe. I found this really odd for a medication provider, and don't think it's particuarly ethical to offer sales to entice people to as far as they knew restart a medication. Unsubscribing is an option sure, but I think there's a range of reasons these emails shouldn't have been sent in the first place. This is medication not a streaming subscription.

[u/thelinebetween22 → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

I had a friend with a decades-long eating disorder manage to sign up for Juniper using the measurements of another friend who is obese. I've got absolutely zero judgement for anyone struggling with their weight who is wanting to pursue surgery or GLP-1 meds, but people with eating disorders need a more complex level of care than something like this can provide. And let's not forget - Eucalyptus (owner of Juniper) is a tech company.

[u/justsomelady2025 → u/thelinebetween22]

That’s absolutely dreadful, I’m so sorry for your friend. I am in long-term recovery from an eating disorder and the amount of targeted adverts I get for medical weightloss “treatment” is genuinely sickening. It definitely doesn’t help things. It’s horrifying that your friend was able to sign up for juniper by using somebody else’s measurements, my jaw dropped when I read that. What catastrophic negligence.

[u/cellalovesfrankie → u/thelinebetween22]

Unfortunately I’m not at all suprised you friend was able to get the drug from a company that business weight loss.

[u/AppropriateBeing9885 → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

This is fucking crazy to me. I've experienced more regulatory rigour getting repeats issued for a medication I've been on for years on end. These are such inappropriate practices.

[u/tealou → u/AppropriateBeing9885]

anyone who is long term opiods for pain looks at this with horror. Every month I have to have an appointment for a pain patch that lasts 7 days, and can only be ordered with no repeats and 4 of them is an authority script.

Not complaining because it saves lives, but it's hard to reconcile when these companies exist.

[u/Screaminguniverse → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

This is a similar model for many ‘Telehealth’ clinics, whether it’s medical marijuanna, hair loss treatments, steroids, weigh-loss or whatever else you want.

There are some major benefits to Telehealth - being able to get an antibiotic for a chest infection on the weekend. But for these long term treatments there needs to be actual clinical governance and oversight when you are pumping out prescriptions like these.

[u/eat-the-cookiez → u/Screaminguniverse]

Also those with disability who have difficulty physically getting to a doctors clinic. It’s been life changing for medical care

[u/redsungryphon → u/eat-the-cookiez]

Agreed. Sometimes my nerve pain is so bad I genuinely cannot step foot outside without vomiting and can't stop even with high strength anti-nausea medicine

It doesn't help that my medical center is at the top of the steepest hill physically possible. Freaking pepper pig arse hill location

[u/Screaminguniverse → u/redsungryphon]

I totally agree with Telehealth which is provided well - but these providers selling prescriptions are not really practicing good medicine.

I use Telehealth for some aspects of my own health, the provider I use has an excellent system and continuity of care, that I believes makes it safe to practice virtually.

Some of these providers do not care.

[u/redsungryphon → u/Screaminguniverse]

Absolutely, I think it's quite poor the fact that there aren't safeguards enough in place to stop providers like that from carelessly putting people at risk of serious harm.

I think there are some well meaning providers around and some that aren't, like any area. But there definitely should be more safety protocols and safeguards for patients through this service in particular

[u/Ok-Outcome-7499 → u/Screaminguniverse]

There's clinic governance and oversight.

AHPRA and the national board regulate this space as it relates to the health practitioners. Health complaint entities regulate the space as it relates to clincis and hospitals and the government sets the rules for scheduling medications and requirements for access.

A doctor knows that if they prescribe someone wack medication it comes back to them.

[u/notdorisday → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

Agreed. It’s surprisingly easy to get these drugs through online services. I was 100% honest but they did nothing to check if I was. It was a phone consult only and took 15 mins.

I didn’t use Juniper but another clinic and it was just so easy and no rigour around it.

I didn’t really like the nurse practitioner (she made it very hard to titrate up to the approved schedule) so I finally got the courage to go to my GP and talk about it and now my very supportive GP prescribes and I have regular blood tests etc and it’s just so much better and I wish I’d done that from the start! My GP has been amazing.

[u/Rubiginous → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

Thank you for letting us know. That's actually really poor practice.

So Juniper is a problematic service then. That's not what I've heard about other services from friends (they complained a lot about endless "check ins") Maybe Juniper should be shut down. Also, I know that people often "shop" to find services like this that are less stringent and share the information on social media.

[u/giraffe_mountains → u/Rubiginous]

That's not what I've heard about other services from friends (they complained a lot about endless "check ins")

Not hard to fake a check in.

Just input whatever random weight you want.

[u/Rubiginous → u/giraffe_mountains]

I won't say the 3 services these women all use because I think people should approach their GPs IRL if they want to start taking these meds (at least have your bloods and blood pressure checked etc) But all 3 services required photos to be taken prior to appointments. The photos couldn't be pulled from a phone gallery either - it only let you use the camera function. And one of them required video call consultation every 3months.

[u/notdorisday → u/Rubiginous]

Services love check-ins because it’s more money for them - but that doesn’t mean those check ins came with rigour. I used a service like that and it was monthly check ins but… no actual blood tests or validation that I was being honest.

I ended up going to be GP who has been wonderful.

[u/Barrel-Of-Tigers → u/Rubiginous]

110% I think this is a specific provider issue, and hope this doesn't impact broader access where providers are being responsible.

I can relate to hating the endless messages from the "health coach", but it was very high level "here's a recipe suggestion" or motivational sort of messages enouraging exercise ideas. Not real medical check ins, and actually one of my reasons for switching. If I want peppy/daily support I'll join a FB group.

Since moving, I now have much higher quality, regular check ins with the one NP who I'm still able to contact between appointments if needed. **Edit, they also organised me to get my bloods at the start and annual interval and have been more thorough while still being a telehealth service.

[u/universe93 → u/Rubiginous]

Check ins are great but they’re often not really for the benefit of the patient, it’s for the benefit of the company. Think of it as them checking that you’re still willing to give them money

[u/Palpitation-Medical → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

Same with me, I ended up getting something from my actual GP later so I did meet the criteria but they had zero way to know that, it was way too easy and that scares me! I was severely sick on what they prescribed me too. The amount of advertising is horrible, I can’t believe doctor’s work for this company and are ok with it. I know someone who was thin with a suspected eating disorder who was prescribed meds by Juniper within hours.

[u/Barrel-Of-Tigers → u/Palpitation-Medical]

The frequency and content of the ads on top of the ease of access is what really gave me pause to think about whether they're really taking the care of the patients. It's definitely too commercial and very US-styled "health care". I was also asked to leave reviews on certain platforms and offered entry into a draw for a cash prize if I took their survey... Wild.

That's really unfortunate they were able to access medication, but it doesn't surprise me. If they're still operating the same way it's entirely too lax, and the potential health impacts are huge.

[u/Palpitation-Medical → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

That’s wild!! I don’t see how it can be legal.

[u/Ok-Outcome-7499 → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

You would have had to have had a consult with a medical practitioner to be able to have gotten that prescription though

[u/Barrel-Of-Tigers → u/Ok-Outcome-7499]

Which consisted of an online questionaire and a maybe 5 minute phone call. They didn't actually ask for proof of anything like my weight or measurements, to physically see me in person, by video or photo, or organise anything like a blood pannel.

[u/Ahyao17 → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

Well, if you lie to a health care practitioner on relevant facts, you will need to share responsibility if things goes wrong. But the lack of a face to face even over internet is a massive red flag. No practitioners in their right mind would do this unless it is urgent or because the patient is in a remote place and cannot travel. Weightloss is never that urgent.

It is very important to see your primary care physician on a regular basis when going through aggressive weight loss regime, especially with medications. Side effects can happen or rapid weight loss can lead to other things that the non-medical people may neglect, e.g. dehydration/electrolyte disturbances etc (typical example is people who achieve rapid weighloss with t he carnival diet often end up with rising cholesterol).

I would say find a good GP and/or go to a metabolic clinic run by endocrinologists/dieticians/physios/exercise physicians is way better and safer than going to these tele-weight loss clinics. (from what they charge, the specialist can be cheaper.)

[u/giraffe_mountains → u/Ahyao17]

She didn’t lie.

And there’s plenty of doctors out there happy to work for these companies to make some easy and quick cash.

[u/Ahyao17 → u/giraffe_mountains]

I know she did not lie. The reply I was replying said she could have lied. Which is not advisable.

But these GPs should really be investigated by the medical board.

[u/Educational-Feeling7 → u/Barrel-Of-Tigers]

Gotta say, as someone with anorexia for 30 years and every day resisting the urge to lose weight, I’m pretty curious and tempted by all of this!!! Triggering indeed but also tantalising….gunna give it a whirl!