Chat clinics prescribed Ozempic to journalist with anorexia

Three Finnish online clinics prescribed obesity medication to Yle journalist Maija Alander without examining her, an investigation by Yle’s MOT programme found. Alander, 28, is of normal weight and has a history of anorexia, which was visible in her health records.

In the test, Alander received six prescriptions after giving a false weight. One clinic issued a prescription in 10 minutes, while two others did so in about 15 minutes. A foreign clinic did not issue one. Alander logged in to each clinic, but did not meet a doctor by video.

The clinics asked for her height and weight but did not verify the information. Alander said she weighed 95 kilograms, giving the clinics grounds to diagnose obesity, for which the required body mass index is at least 30. After MOT contacted the clinics, they acknowledged mistakes. One clinic ended the contract of a doctor who had worked there.

Finland’s Licensing and Supervisory Authority says information provided by a patient alone is generally not enough to prescribe medication. A doctor should review the patient’s health records or examine them, and should decline to prescribe if they cannot reliably assess whether treatment is needed.

Obesity medication can be life-threatening for someone with anorexia. The programme said it tested access to the medication for journalistic purposes and does not recommend misuse.

Alander was chosen for the test because she had severe anorexia as a teenager and spent eight months in hospital. She says she tried herbal products and laxatives while ill, and feared gaining weight more than death. She described weight-loss drugs as offering rapid weight loss with little effort, making them highly tempting for people with eating disorders.

Psychiatry professor Anu Raevuori, who researches eating disorders at the University of Helsinki, says patients should be examined before starting obesity medication and assessed for current or past eating disorders. The drugs reduce hunger and may worsen anorexia or bulimia, trigger a new eating disorder or reactivate one from decades earlier, she said. Warning signs include unusually rapid weight loss and a complete loss of hunger.

The article also cites a study published in the United States in the summer, which found that one in three people with eating disorders had used gut-hormone drugs intended to treat obesity, such as Ozempic. It reports that severe cases requiring hospital care have been reported in Japan, where rapid weight loss has led to loss of muscle mass and nutrient deficiencies, and in the worst cases a dangerous buildup of ketones that makes the body acidic.