Telehealth business ideas: GLP-1 and 5 other verticals

Six telehealth business ideas sell a recurring prescription program: GLP-1 weight loss, hair loss, sexual health, testosterone therapy, menopause care and dermatology. They differ in what it takes to get customers: platform certification, whether the drug is a controlled substance, and how long refills carry the economics. This page compares the six on those points, with GLP-1 as the reference case.

It is written for founders and growth leads choosing a direct-to-consumer vertical, not for clinicians or app builders. For how a GLP-1 brand earns, read telehealth business model. For the launch sequence, read how to start a GLP-1 telehealth company.

Which telehealth verticals compare, at a glance

The six verticals share one platform gate and split on two things: the controlled-substance question and the evidence of refill revenue. In the table, “Prescription rule” means Meta’s requirement that telehealth providers be actively certified with LegitScript and then request authorization from Meta before promoting prescription drugs, plus Google’s requirement that prescription drug service advertisers apply and be certified. The next section quotes both. Policies were checked on November 2, 2026.

None of the six escapes the gate once ads promote a prescription program. The refill evidence comes from two public companies, Hims & Hers and LifeMD. These are data points, not a ranking of either company or vertical.

What platforms require before a prescription telehealth ad runs

Meta and Google both tie prescription telehealth advertising to LegitScript, and Google adds its own certification. This applies to every vertical in the table. For the GLP-1 detail, read LegitScript by ad platform and GLP-1 prescription drug ads on Meta.

• Meta. Meta’s Drugs and Pharmaceuticals policy states, “Meta requires online pharmacies and telehealth providers to be actively certified with LegitScript.” After certification the advertiser must request authorization from Meta. Ads that “promote telehealth services generally” don’t need written authorization. Targeting is limited to eligible countries, with the United States among them, and to people 18 or older.
• Google. Google’s Healthcare and medicines policy says “Advertisers must apply to serve ads for prescription drug services.” For the United States, Google allows telemedicine providers accredited by LegitScript’s Healthcare Merchant Certification Program, and advertisers must also be certified with Google.
• Google, sexual health. Google’s sexual health policy allows prescription drugs for erectile dysfunction on the Google Display Network and YouTube in limited cases. The ads can’t focus on sexual pleasure or enhancement, can’t use sexually suggestive elements and must target adults only.

The gate attaches when a brand adds an online prescribing program. A brand that only runs ads about telehealth services in general sits on the lighter side of Meta’s wording. Once the ad promotes a prescription drug, the certification route applies. A vertical choice is therefore also a platform-access choice, and what changes the economics is the product, the channel mix and the refill pattern.

GLP-1 weight loss as the reference case

GLP-1 weight loss is the vertical where the prescription rule, platform-specific weight loss ad rules and price pressure all meet. Semaglutide and tirzepatide do not appear on the DEA’s list of controlled substances, so the DEA telemedicine date below doesn’t apply to them. Platform access still runs through LegitScript and the authorizations above.

Three public data points show how the category behaves:

• Speed. On its Q4 2025 call, Hims said its weight loss offering reached a $100,000,000 revenue run rate in less than seven months after launch, excluding compounded GLP-1. The same call said sexual health and hair loss took three and sometimes four years to pass $100M in annual revenue. Both are company statements.
• Price pressure. LifeMD’s third quarter 2025 release said the weight management market remained challenging, “driven largely by fierce competition from low-price compounded GLP-1 providers.” By its second quarter 2026 release, about 95% of new weight management patients began on branded GLP-1 therapy.
• Diversification. Hims management said on the same call that the majority of its revenue comes from outside GLP-1. Only a small minority of its subscribers used a compounded GLP-1.

For how compounded and branded products differ in marketing terms, read compounded GLP-1 explained. For Meta’s weight loss ad rules, read Meta’s weight loss ads policy. For acquisition cost, which this page leaves out on purpose, read patient acquisition cost.

Hair loss, sexual health and dermatology

Hair loss, sexual health and dermatology are the longer-tenured categories in Hims’ own account, and they show what refill-driven revenue looks like once it matures. Hims said sexual health and dermatology carried it past $1,000,000,000 in revenue and to profitability before it scaled weight loss.

• Retention language. Hims’ 10-K says it expects to retain a significant majority of revenue from subscribers who maintain a subscription for more than two years. The same filing says a majority of customers buy through subscription plans, billed on a recurring basis.
• Product type. A hair loss program can include prescription and over-the-counter products. Meta treats the two differently, with the prescription rule for the first and its over-the-counter rule for the second, which allows ads to people 18 or older when local laws are met. The offer mix decides which rule an ad falls under.
• Sexual health ads. The Google rule above is the sharpest limit in this group. Brands in this vertical plan around it.

These categories reward patience. Hims said sexual health and hair loss took three or four years to pass $100M in annual revenue, so a brand entering one should budget for a long ramp. Hims’ own GLP-1 offer ramped faster, but it launched on a platform that had already passed $1B in revenue, so a new brand shouldn’t assume the same curve.

Testosterone and other controlled-substance programs

A testosterone program depends on a federal telemedicine date, and a GLP-1 program does not. The DEA lists testosterone as a Schedule III drug. DEA and HHS extended the telemedicine flexibilities for controlled medications through December 31, 2026. Under them, DEA-registered practitioners can prescribe Schedule II to V controlled medications by audio-video telemedicine without ever having conducted an in-person evaluation, if other DEA and state requirements are met.

• The date. The extension runs through December 31, 2026, according to the DEA’s December 31, 2025 press release. That is two months from the date these sources were checked.
• The proposed replacement. A special registration for telemedicine prescribing was still a proposed rule, not a final one, as of an October 20, 2026 review by Health Law Alliance.
• The state layer. State telehealth and pharmacy rules sit on top of the federal rule for every vertical in this guide.
• Two outcomes to plan for. If the flexibilities are extended again or replaced, the funnel can stay as it is. If they lapse, the Ryan Haight Act’s in-person evaluation requirement returns for controlled substances, and an online-only funnel needs an in-person step. Ad claims such as “fully online” should be written so they survive either outcome.

Re-check the DEA’s site for a new rule or extension before building a testosterone offer around today’s flexibilities.

Menopause and hormone care

Menopause care follows the same platform gate as the other prescription verticals, and the DEA exposure depends on the product. Whether a hormone product is a controlled substance decides which side of the DEA date it sits on. Check the schedule of each product in the program before planning acquisition.

Hims said on its Q4 2025 call that within three months in 2025 it launched labs and hormone therapies covering low testosterone, menopause and perimenopause. Management said it believes testosterone, menopause and labs can each pass $100M in annual revenue in the near future. Those are company expectations, not results. LifeMD’s third quarter 2025 release also describes new launches in women’s health, men’s health and psychiatry, and early traction in men’s hormone therapy. The public evidence for menopause revenue is still early, so a founder choosing it should read the next filings instead of leaning on launch-year claims.

What each vertical needs before the first ad runs

Every vertical in this guide needs the same four things in place before the first prescription-program ad, plus one that varies. Policies were checked on November 2, 2026.

1. LegitScript certification. Meta requires it for telehealth providers, and Google accepts LegitScript accreditation for United States telemedicine providers. It is the brand’s own certification.
2. Platform authorization. Meta requires an authorization request after certification. Google requires its own certification on top. Neither is automatic.
3. Compliant targeting. Meta limits prescription drug ads to eligible countries and adults. Google’s sexual health rule adds limits for ED drugs.
4. A landing page that matches the ad. The destination follows the same policy as the ad.
5. The varying item. For testosterone it is the DEA date. For hair loss it is the Rx versus OTC split. For GLP-1 it is the compounded versus branded split.

How to pick a vertical in 6 steps

A founder can run this process without us. It takes the vertical from an idea to a go or no-go decision on customer acquisition.

1. Decide the product type. Is the offer prescription, controlled or over-the-counter? Write it down per product, not per vertical.
2. Map the gates. List the certification, platform authorization and state rules each product triggers, using the table above.
3. Check the margin math against the refill pattern. Use the metrics public companies report: subscribers, revenue per subscriber and the share of recurring revenue. Hims reports monthly revenue per average subscriber, and LifeMD reports recurring revenue as a share of total.
4. Choose channels the vertical can legally use. Match each product to the channels its platform rules allow. ED prescription drugs, for example, are limited on Google to Display and YouTube in limited cases.
5. Plan creative boundaries per platform. Draft what the ads can and cannot say before building the funnel, not after the first rejection.
6. Set a kill criterion before spend. Decide the number, such as an acquisition cost the refill pattern can’t repay, at which the vertical stops. Write it down first.

How we run GLP-1 acquisition

The GLP1.partners media team runs GLP-1 acquisition and makes no claim about the other five verticals. The approach below is how we work in the vertical this page uses as its reference case.

• Meta. The media team runs GLP-1 brands on established agency accounts built for GLP-1 scale, with a dedicated Meta agency contact.
• Channel set. The channels are Meta, Outbrain, TikTok, our own comparison sites and an affiliate network we manage.
• Platform approvals. In the team’s words, “We run GLP-1 and telehealth traffic at scale with platform approvals on every network we buy.”
• Certification. The brand brings its own LegitScript certification. Our accounts are suited to run prescription-program ads once it is in place.
• Scale. The team has managed $38M in GLP-1 media and scaled 27 GLP-1 brands.

For how to structure the ads themselves, read how to advertise GLP-1. For how paid channels are run for brands, see paid media and the Meta agency accounts page.

FAQ

Is telehealth a good business idea?

The public filings show both outcomes. Hims reported 2025 revenue of $2,350,000,000, up 59% year over year. LifeMD’s second quarter 2026 revenue was $47.3 million, down about 4% year over year, which the company tied to the continued shift from compounded to branded GLP-1 therapies and lower upfront revenue from pricing and mix decisions. The vertical, the product mix and the acquisition model decide which of those a new brand looks like.

Which vertical has the lowest ad-platform barrier?

None of the six avoids the gate once an ad promotes a prescription program. Meta says ads that promote telehealth services generally don’t need written authorization, so the lowest barrier is advertising the service without promoting a prescription drug. Once the ad promotes the drug, certification and authorization apply.

Do all telehealth verticals need LegitScript?

Meta requires active LegitScript certification for telehealth providers that promote prescription drugs. Google’s United States rule accepts LegitScript accreditation for telemedicine providers and also requires Google’s own certification. A telehealth service that does not promote a prescription drug in its ads sits under the lighter Meta wording above.

Does the DEA telemedicine date affect GLP-1 brands?

No. Semaglutide and tirzepatide do not appear on the DEA’s list of controlled substances, so the Ryan Haight Act and the DEA telemedicine rules do not apply to them. State telehealth law applies to GLP-1 and to every other vertical here.