Medically Reviewed & Contributed By
Dr. Parmis
Medical Researcher · Western University of Health and Sciences
Clinically Verified
A complete, transparent explanation of how we score semaglutide providers, why we chose each criterion, how we handle conflicts of interest, and how our rankings can change.
Most comparison sites in the healthcare and telehealth space do not publish their ranking methodology. This creates an obvious problem: readers cannot distinguish between genuinely independent editorial judgment and paid placement disguised as editorial content.
We believe the only way to credibly claim editorial independence is to publish the exact formula we use — weights, criteria, scoring rubrics, and the process by which scores change. If our formula is visible, readers, competitors, and providers can all verify whether our rankings are consistent with it.
This page is that complete record. It is updated every time the methodology changes, with a full version history at the bottom.
Every provider receives a score from 0–100 using the following weighted formula. Each component is scored on a 0–100 sub-scale, then multiplied by its weight. No curve, no override, no exceptions.
| Criterion | Weight | What We Measure | Data Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Transparency | 25% | Is the full all-in monthly cost published before sign-up? Are dose escalation costs disclosed? Are cancellation fee structures clear? | Provider website audit, mystery shopper sign-up flows, price change tracking |
| Clinical Protocols | 25% | Prescriber licensure and specialty, safety screening depth (contraindication checks, drug interactions), FDA-aligned dosing protocols, patient monitoring requirements | Provider intake form review, prescriber credential verification, clinical protocol documentation requests |
| Prescriber Access | 20% | Time to first consultation, escalation pathway availability, synchronous vs. asynchronous options, response time to patient questions | Secret shopper testing, verified patient reviews, timed consultation requests |
| Patient Outcomes | 20% | Published outcome data, 3rd-party review scores (weighted by recency), program retention rates, discontinuation support quality | Provider-published data, Trustpilot/Google verified reviews, patient survey data |
| Operational Transparency | 10% | Cancellation policy clarity, refund availability, data privacy practices, complaint resolution, pharmacy accreditation disclosure | Terms of service review, privacy policy analysis, BBB and state AG complaint records |
Our editorial team creates anonymous patient accounts on each provider platform at least once per quarter. We test the full intake flow — from initial screening questions through consultation request, pricing disclosure, and first medication shipment. This allows us to verify what providers claim on their marketing pages versus what the actual patient experience is.
We verify prescriber license types through state medical board databases for the top 10 ranked providers. For providers claiming "MD prescribers," we sample prescriber names from platform profiles and check them against state licensure records. Any provider that cannot verify its prescriber claims on request receives an automatic 20-point deduction from its Clinical Protocols score.
For providers offering compounded semaglutide, we require disclosed pharmacy names and verify them against the FDA's 503B outsourcing facility registry and/or PCAB accreditation records. Providers that refuse to name their compounding partner receive an automatic deduction in the Operational Transparency score.
We pull verified patient reviews from Trustpilot, Google Business, and the BBB on a monthly basis. Reviews are weighted by recency (reviews in the past 12 months carry 3x more weight than older reviews). We cross-reference complaint patterns against our clinical protocol findings to identify systemic issues.
Editorial independence is not just a phrase we put in a header. The following structural policies are in place to prevent our monetization model from influencing our rankings:
Editors score providers without access to our referral partner list. The list of which providers pay us referral fees is maintained separately by our business team and is not visible to scoring editors.
Any change to a provider's score requires a documented evidence entry — a URL, screenshot, mystery shopper report, or verified data source. No score can be changed by editorial opinion alone.
We earn the same flat referral fee regardless of which provider a patient chooses. This eliminates the incentive to favor higher-revenue providers common in commission-based models.
Providers cannot pay to improve their scores, have negative information removed, or be included in any "sponsored" placement. We do not accept payment from providers for any editorial content.
Our referral relationship is disclosed on every page of the site — not hidden in a footer note. Patients deserve to know how we generate revenue before relying on our rankings.
Every provider is re-evaluated monthly. Rankings are not set-and-forget. A provider that was #1 last month can fall if their pricing, protocols, or patient outcomes change.
We believe the clearest sign of editorial integrity is transparency about revenue. Here is an explicit accounting of how SemaglutideReview.com generates income:
Our methodology is not static — it adapts to reflect changes in the regulatory environment and market. Here are the key developments we're actively monitoring and incorporating into our scores:
The FDA's semaglutide shortage designation has been contested by Novo Nordisk and is subject to ongoing administrative review. Our compounded semaglutide rankings are updated immediately if the shortage designation changes, as this directly affects the legal status of compounding programs. Providers offering compounded semaglutide outside of valid shortage authorization will be flagged with a warning in their profiles.
Proposed legislation (the "Medicare Obesity Bridge Act") would cover GLP-1 medications for obesity under Part D. If passed, this would significantly impact pricing scores for providers with Medicare patient populations. We are tracking this bill and will update relevant provider profiles if it advances.
The FDA accepted a New Drug Application for oral semaglutide 25mg in 2025. If approved, this would be the first oral GLP-1 treatment for obesity. We will add oral semaglutide programs to our rankings within 90 days of FDA approval.
Orforglipron (an oral GLP-1 from Eli Lilly) has its PDUFA date in April 2026. If approved, we will begin reviewing orforglipron providers under a new category while keeping this site focused on semaglutide-specific programs.
Every change to our methodology or provider scores is recorded here with a date, description, and the evidence that justified the change.
If you are a provider with evidence that your score is inaccurate, or a patient with a documented experience that contradicts our findings, we want to hear from you. All correction requests are reviewed by our editorial team within 14 business days.
To submit a correction, email editorial@semaglutidereveiw.com with:
1. The provider name and specific score component you believe is inaccurate
2. The evidence supporting your claim (links, screenshots, documents)
3. Your relationship to the provider (patient, employee, owner, or none)
We will investigate and either update the score with a logged reason, or reply with our reasoning for maintaining the current score. We publish all substantive correction outcomes in the changelog above.