How We Review Telehealth Providers

The Four Scoring Axes

Every provider on RxNotebook is scored on four independent axes, each weighted equally in the composite editor score.

Formulary Breadth

We track the medications a provider can prescribe, distinguishing FDA-approved brand-name drugs (Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic, Mounjaro, etc.) from compounded alternatives. Platforms that offer both routes earn higher formulary scores, because patients have more options as their needs evolve.

Pricing Transparency

We score against three signals: whether prices are visible without an account, whether bundled costs (consult fees, shipping, follow-ups) are surfaced, and whether long-term commitment pricing is clearly distinguished from monthly rates. We always separate the program (membership) fee from the medication cost in our reviews.

Clinical Oversight

Telehealth is a clinical service, not a vending machine. We rate the quality and frequency of clinician access, the use of biomarker testing, and adherence to category-specific guidelines (TRT lab cadence, GLP-1 dose escalation, hair loss baseline assessment, etc.).

Shipping and Operations

Pharmacy licensure, fulfillment cadence, dose-flexibility on resupply, and refund policies all factor into this axis. We weight published policy and corroborated reader reports.

How Rankings Change

Rankings are reviewed quarterly. Providers can move up or down based on formulary changes, pricing shifts, regulatory developments (such as the FDA's evolving guidance on compounded GLP-1s), and reader feedback. Major regulatory changes prompt an immediate review.

Editorial Independence

We earn a commission when readers start a program through our links. The commission rate does not influence rankings. Providers with the highest payouts are not always our top picks. We routinely rank lower-paying providers above higher-paying ones when the editorial case is clearer.

How We Verify Prices

Every price shown in our comparison tables is manually verified against the provider's public-facing website or checkout flow. We do not accept provider-supplied pricing sheets or press releases as the sole source. We confirm the figure ourselves before publishing.

Prices are re-checked on a rolling monthly basis. When a provider changes their pricing, we update the affected table within 7 days of discovery and log the change in our Editorial Changelog. The "Prices verified" date shown on each table reflects the most recent manual spot-check for that page.

We report all-in monthly costs: program (membership) fee + medication + shipping + any required follow-up consultations. We do not report introductory promotional prices unless the standard rate is also shown. If a provider requires a consultation before revealing pricing, we note this in the review.

Compounded medication prices are particularly volatile because they depend on active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) costs, 503A pharmacy capacity, and FDA shortage status. We flag providers whose compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide pricing has changed materially in the prior 90 days.