Telehealth
How telehealth companies and the agencies that watch them show up in public documents.
Seen a telehealth ad for a weight-loss medicine and wondered who checks the claims? Telehealth means care delivered by video, phone or app, and some companies market compounded drugs, including GLP-1 medicines. Two federal agencies have said things about it, and they've said different things.
FDA has addressed telehealth marketing of compounded drugs in a September 2025 warning letter to one company, a February 2026 statement and a Questions and Answers page. [V] The FTC, with Utah and California, sued Hims & Hers on July 29, 2026. Its press release describes privacy, billing and cancellation allegations, not drug quality. [V] A complaint is an allegation, and the FTC says the court will decide the case. Telehealth is already a real channel, too: in KFF's late-2025 poll, 17% of adults who had taken a GLP-1 drug named an online provider or website, against 76% who named one of their doctors. [V]
Evidence labels: [V] verified in a primary document, [S] secondary source. Reviewed October 25, 2026.
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- Legal
- FDA
Hims & Hers, the FTC and the FDA: who has actually said what about telehealth and compounded drugs
What the FTC and FDA have each said about telehealth companies and compounded drugs, from public documents, and what each does not cover.
Common questions
Did the FTC sue Hims & Hers over the quality of compounded drugs?
Not according to its press release. The release describes allegations about enrolling consumers in subscriptions, difficult cancellation and sharing health information with advertising platforms. It does not describe claims about drug quality. [V]
Is a compounded drug the same as an FDA-approved drug?
No. FDA's Questions and Answers page says compounded drugs are not FDA-approved. [V] Approval is a separate FDA review of a drug's evidence. See the FDA hub.
Has the court decided the case?
As of October 25, 2026 we found no ruling. A court-docket aggregator listed a motion to dismiss filed on October 22, 2026. [S]
Key terms in plain English
- Telehealth
- Health care delivered remotely by video, phone or an app.
- Compounded drug
- A customized drug made by a pharmacist or physician. It is not an FDA-approved drug. [V]
- Allegation
- A claim made in a complaint that a court has not yet decided.
Primary sources behind this page
- FTC press release on Hims & Hers (July 29, 2026)
- FTC case page (listed as pending)
- FDA, Compounding and the FDA: Questions and Answers (retrieved Oct. 25, 2026)
- FDA statement on non-FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs (February 2026)
- KFF Health Tracking Poll on GLP-1 drug use (published Nov. 14, 2025)
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