GLP-1 Medications in Modern Care: Benefits, Risks, and Patient Counseling

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Differentiate GLP-1 and non-GLP-1 anti-obesity medications by ingredient, route, administration, and FDA-approved indication.

2. Evaluate patient eligibility and treatment options based on complications, risks, benefits, access, and patient preferences.

3. Select a product-specific plan for initiation, titration, administration, missed doses, and monitoring.

4. Analyze peri-procedural risk using individualized assessment and current guidance.

5. Select appropriate counseling and follow-up strategies addressing unapproved products, nutrition, access, persistence, and weight stigma.

Prescribing decisions involving GLP-1–based and anti-obesity medications increasingly require product-specific rather than class-wide reasoning. This four-contact-hour activity addresses gaps in clinicians’ ability to differentiate products, indications, dosage forms, administration requirements, contraindications, safety considerations, and evolving regulatory and peri-procedural recommendations.

The course addresses complication-centered eligibility assessment, comparative treatment selection, shared decision-making, product-specific initiation and titration, administration and missed doses, adverse-effect recognition, interactions, monitoring, peri-procedural risk assessment, compounded and other unapproved products, nutrition, persistence, access, and stigma-free longitudinal care.