She lied about her weight and was prescribed weightloss medication

Digital health care providers play an important role in our stretched healthcare system, but should they be prescribing high-risk medication like Wegovy?

Story contains discussion of disordered eating

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Caption:People are getting access to weightloss medication without using digital doctors. Should it really be that easy? Photo credit:RNZ / Unsplash / Screenshot

The transformation in the image that 23-year-old Rose showed me on her phone over a video call was remarkably convincing.

​In the first image, Rose, who lives in the Waikato region, appeared slim underneath baggy pants and a jumper. In the second image, Rose’s face was noticeably plump, and her frame appeared enlarged beneath the same baggy outfit (Rose asked that I use her middle name to protect her privacy).

​That second image was tweaked using an AI image tool with instructions to make Rose’s body appear to have a Body Mass Index over 27, the lowest guideline for someone to receive a prescription for the weight-loss medication Wegovy.

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.

​She 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. Within minutes of typing a few messages - no phone call, no video conference - to the service’s 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’s weight, but ultimately decided to prescribe Wegovy).

​“I had never expected it to even work. I didn't think it would be this easy to even get a prescription to begin with,” Rose told me in an earlier interview.

Well Revolution did not respond to requests for comment submitted by email and chat function.

​Rose's story illustrates some of the loose prescribing practices for Wegovy since it launched in New Zealand on July 1, 2025. 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.

​GP 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.

​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. 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.

​“She 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, ‘Are you serious?’"

​The other doctors referred her to a dietitian or advised her to exercise more, approaches she says she had already tried for years.

​“I just think they don’t understand the difficulty it is to actually lose the weight in the normal traditional way,” says Lindy, who blames part of her weight gain on the hormone disruption of menopause.

​She booked a video call consultation with Moshy. A doctor discussed the possible side effects and prescribed Wegovy, which was delivered to her home.

​“There was no judgment. I didn't leave feeling like crap, basically,” Lindy says, adding that she has felt “relatively” supported by the Moshy doctor since that initial video call.

​Dr Luke Bradford, medical director of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, says that GPs have “rapidly upskilled in their safe use and monitoring” of GLP-1s. 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’t feel heard and if necessary, seek a second opinion, he says.

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't flag the practice as illegal or inappropriate. He notes that an in-person consultation “may be expected when a patient is getting a prescription for a product for the first time.” Telehealth guidelines from the Medical Council of New Zealand state that “patients requiring repeat prescriptions should be assessed in person on a regular basis...”

​Dr Farkhondeh Hassandoust from the University of Auckland, who studies digital health services in New Zealand, does not believe “high-risk” medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro should be prescribed via telehealth. However, she says digital health plays an important role in New Zealand’s strained healthcare system by reducing travel, improving access and helping some patients feel less judged than they do in face-to-face settings.

​“Digital... can easily support triage, reminders, education, follow-ups, and ongoing self-management,” she later added.

​Hassandoust's research has also found some patients are more willing to disclose sensitive information to chatbots or online services before they feel comfortable sharing it with a doctor.

​Rose 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). She reported experiencing acne through the website’s chat function and soon received a prescription for medication to treat acne, without further questions from a doctor.

​When 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.

​“It just makes me sad seeing other people destroying themselves in the same way that I'm destroying myself and don't feel good about, but also I can't stop myself.”

Where to get help:

If you think you might have an eating disorder, the first step is to tell your GP - even if that's difficult.

Eating Disorders Carer Support is a New Zealand/Aotearoa registered non-profit charitable trust which supports all carers of people with eating disorders or disordered eating.

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