Research sheds light on health outcomes and insurance coverage for patients treated with GLP-1s, and how technology is innovating obesity care

NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Ro, the leading direct-to-patient healthcare company, was selected to present eight new research abstracts at ObesityWeek 2025, hosted by The Obesity Society in Atlanta, GA from November 4-7, 2025. Ro’s presentations will highlight the quality of obesity care on its platform, including outcomes among patients treated with tirzepatide, those with osteoarthritis, and those seeking treatment after bariatric surgery. Further, the research will continue to advance understanding of insurance coverage for GLP-1s and how AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) can support the patient experience.

“At Ro, we believe that better obesity care begins by listening to patients and measuring their outcomes,” said Dr. Melynda Barnes, Chief Medical Officer at Ro. “Few organizations have the platform or scale to generate insights across such a wide range of topics with large sample sizes the way Ro does. These insights help us deeply understand each piece of the patient experience so that we can build tools and clinical systems that scale high-quality outcomes and are rooted in evidence.”

The research was led by Ro’s scientific affairs team, advisors, and several other leading obesity thought leaders. The following abstracts spanning patient health outcomes, technology innovation, and food noise will be presented in the Poster Hall at the respective dates and times:

Patient Outcomes

Weight Loss Outcomes in Patients Prescribed Tirzepatide in a Telehealth Setting

Poster #: 634 | Date/Time: 11/6/2025, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Authors: Brooke J. Smith, Lauren Broffman, Kevin Stern, Raoul Manalac, Sam Chai, Beverly Tchang

Tirzepatide is an effective and increasingly common treatment for overweight and obesity, yet there is little evidence for the real-world outcomes achieved via telehealth. This study evaluated 12-month weight loss outcomes and the frequency of adverse events among patients treated with branded tirzepatide through Ro’s platform. At 12 months, patients achieved an average weight loss of 19.5% of their body weight, and nearly all achieved meaningful weight loss (losing ≥5% of baseline weight). The results are comparable to outcomes observed in clinical trials, with a similar profile of adverse events.

Exploratory Analysis of Osteoarthritis-Related Outcomes in GLP-1 Patients Treated via Telehealth

Poster #: 597 | Date/Time: 11/6/2025, 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Authors: Raoul Manalac, Brooke J. Smith, Sam Chai, JB Reefer, Nitin Vaswani, Diana Gonzalez, Kristina Babakhanova, Paula Ankenbauer, Lauren Broffman

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common musculoskeletal condition often exacerbated by excess weight. This study assessed patients’ perceived changes in joint pain, mobility, and daily function following at least four weeks of treatment with a branded GLP-1 through Ro’s platform. A majority of patients who responded to the survey reported improvements across multiple joint and mobility measures. The findings suggest that GLP-1 treatment may alleviate OA symptoms and improve quality of life for this patient population.

Weight Loss Outcomes of Post-Op Bariatric Surgery Patients Seeking Treatment on a Digital Health Platform

Poster #: 621 | Date/Time: 11/6/2025, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Authors: Raoul Manalac, Lauren Broffman, Laura Boyer, Philip Schauer

A substantial proportion of patients experience inadequate weight loss or weight recurrence following metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS). This analysis identified a random sample of 3,000 patients who initiated treatment through Ro with either branded semaglutide or tirzepatide and self-reported MBS more than 2 years prior. Despite having undergone MBS, many patients in this cohort continued to struggle with excess weight and reported a negative impact on quality of life. GLP-1 treatment was associated with clinically meaningful weight loss at 24 weeks post-initiation, with a mean weight loss of 13.9% (tirzepatide 14.9%, semaglutide 10.9%).

Technology & Innovation

Evaluation of a Large Language Model–Enabled Adverse Event Triage Tool in Telehealth Obesity Care

Poster #: 595 | Date/Time: 11/6/2025, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Authors: Caroline Altman, Sophie Black, Lauren Broffman, Dan Cadden, Adam Handler, Peter King, Quentin Lehn, Emily Strait, Will Walmsley

Adverse events from GLP-1s are a factor in treatment adherence and discontinuation. Recently, innovators, including Ro, have explored how AI can support more timely management of adverse events. This study evaluated Ro’s in-house built large language model (LLM)-based tool used to automatically detect and triage messages containing GLP-1-related adverse event concerns, enabling faster care team follow up and improved support. The LLM achieved 94% accuracy in detecting adverse event-related message content, and following implementation, resulted in significantly reduced care team response times (mean response time fell from 115.1 minutes pre-implementation to 33 minutes post-implementation), especially for urgent adverse events (post-implementation mean response time 25.8 minutes).

GLP-1 Coverage Rates and Copays Among Individuals Using an Insurance Eligibility Checker

Poster #: 631 | Date/Time: 11/6/2025, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Authors: Nicholas Samonas, Zachariah Reitano, Benjamin Gershuny, Edward Zheng, Lauren Broffman

Insurance coverage or lack of it remains a significant factor in patient access to treatment with a GLP-1. This study examined rates of insurance coverage and associated copays for weight management with GLP-1s (semaglutide and tirzepatide) specifically among a cohort of 100,000 individuals with overweight or obesity who self-initiated use of Ro’s insurance eligibility checker. Among this ‘on-label’ and motivated population, 45% of users lacked insurance coverage for either medication, while 26.7% had coverage for both, and among those with coverage, nearly all required prior authorization. The median copays were $90 for semaglutide and $80 for tirzepatide.

Who Are the Patients with Class IV Obesity Seeking Telehealth? A Cohort Comparison

Poster #: 596 | Date/Time: 11/6/2025, 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Authors: Lauren Broffman, Hari Iyengar, Raoul Manalac, Beverly Tchang

Patients with class IV obesity (BMI>50 kg/m²) face substantial health risks, but in-person care may be less desirable to these patients due to physical limitations and weight bias. This study examined the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with BMI > 50 kg/m² seeking treatment through Ro’s platform. Compared with patients with class I–III obesity, a greater proportion of those with class IV obesity seeking telehealth care were Black, female, and residing in the South. They also reported significantly greater impacts of their weight on health and quality of life, including daily functioning and overall well-being. Telehealth may represent a promising access point for this population.

Food Noise

Ro recently collaborated with top obesity experts to introduce the ‘Ro Allison Indiana Dhurandhar Food Noise’ (RAID-FN) Inventory (RAID-FN), a clinically validated scale to measure food noise, the phenomenon of persistent thoughts about food that are perceived as unwanted and unpleasant. The following two abstracts use RAID-FN scores from patients seeking treatment through Ro’s platform, and were authored alongside two expert developers of the RAID-FN scale, David B. Allison, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Endowed Chair and Director of USDA-ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine and Emily Dhurandar, PhD, Director of Research Special Projects at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Chief Scientific Officer of Obthera.

Who Reports More Food Noise? Demographic and Health Associations via a Validated Measure

Poster #: 051 | Date/Time: 11/4/2025, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Brooke J. Smith, Lauren Broffman, Emily J. Dhurandhar, Sam Chai, Ira Patnaik, Emma Stegman, Raoul Manalac, David B. Allison

This study analyzed electronic health record (EHR) data from a random sample of 35,000 patients who completed the RAID-FN scale during treatment initiation for overweight or obesity. Results suggest food noise can vary based on demographic and health factors (e.g., diet, BMI, history of mental health conditions) in a treatment-seeking population with overweight or obesity. A better understanding of patients’ experience of food noise may lead to improved care, more successful treatment, and enhanced quality of life.

Food Noise and Weight-Related Quality of Life: Evaluating the Utility of the RAID-Food Noise Scale

Poster #: 052 | Date/Time: 11/4/2025, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Brooke J. Smith, Lauren Broffman, Emily J. Dhurandhar, Sam Chai, Ira Patnaik, Emma Stegman, Raoul Manalac, David B. Allison

Understanding how food noise relates to perceived quality of life (QoL) can inform clinical strategies for addressing weight-related distress. This analysis of 35,000 randomly selected patients seeking treatment through Ro’s platform measured the association of food noise with weight-related QoL while considering demographic and health-related characteristics. Results suggest that increased food noise is associated with increased reported negative impacts on the QoL of individuals with overweight or obesity.

“Through our platform, we can analyze structured, real-world data at scale to uncover what truly impacts patient outcomes, from insurance coverage to daily experience,” said Dr. Lauren Broffman, Director of Real World Evidence at Ro. “This research reflects our commitment to using data to build a better healthcare system—one that offers patients greater transparency, support, and the most effective care possible.”

About Ro
Ro is a direct-to-patient healthcare company with a mission of helping patients achieve their health goals by delivering the easiest, most effective care possible. Ro is the only company to offer nationwide telehealth, labs, and pharmacy services. This is enabled by Ro’s vertically integrated platform that helps patients achieve their goals through a convenient, end-to-end healthcare experience spanning from diagnosis, to delivery of medication, to ongoing care. Since 2017, Ro has helped millions of patients in nearly every single county in the United States, including 99% of primary care deserts. Visit Ro.co for more information.

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