How we grade GLP-1 clinics

Every clinic we grade is scored on 100 points across seven weighted dimensions of medical legitimacy and transparency. This page is the full, versioned rubric: the weights, the caps that override a score, the verification tiers, and the guardrails we hold ourselves to. The grade is the product, and it cannot be bought.

Last updated: July 14, 2026Sourcing method: Published methodology (v1)Reviewed by: GLP-1 Grades Editorial Team

How does GLP-1 Grades score clinics?

GLP-1 Grades scores each clinic on 100 points across seven weighted dimensions (medical oversight, medication sourcing, clinical protocol, telehealth compliance, claims honesty, pricing transparency, and trust signals), then maps the total to an A–F letter grade (A = 90–100, B = 80–89, C = 70–79, D = 60–69, F = under 60). Grades rate a clinic’s publicly documented safety, transparency, and compliance practices, not patient outcomes and not an endorsement. Certain red flags cap the grade regardless of points. Every grade is dated, sourced, and reflects public evidence only.

The seven weighted dimensions

100 points total. Weighting reflects what matters most for a legitimate medical GLP-1 provider: who is prescribing and whether they evaluate you, and what medication you are actually getting.

Scoring rubric: 100 points across 7 dimensions
#DimensionPtsWhat earns the points
1Medical oversight & prescriber credentials25A licensed prescriber (MD/DO/NP/PA) is named or verifiable; a real clinical evaluation is required before prescribing; contraindications (personal/family medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN2) and other warnings and screening factors (pancreatitis history, pregnancy/breastfeeding, gallbladder disease) are screened.
2Medication sourcing & traceability25Discloses brand (FDA-approved) vs. compounded; names the dispensing pharmacy; if compounded, discloses 503A vs. 503B and states plainly that compounded semaglutide/tirzepatide are not FDA-approved.
3Clinical protocol quality15Requires baseline labs; documented titration schedule; defined follow-up cadence; side-effect management guidance; a maintenance / off-ramp plan.
4Telehealth & licensing compliance10Honest about which states it is licensed in; synchronous evaluation where required; no auto-ship of medication without an evaluation.
5Safety & claims honesty10No unrealistic guarantees, no “no diet or exercise needed” hype, clear risk disclosure, and a documented adverse-event / contact path.
6Pricing transparency10Published, itemized pricing (consult, medication, labs, membership) rather than opaque “book a call for pricing,” with a clear statement of what is and isn’t included.
7Trust signals5Verifiable physical address, real (non-astroturfed) reviews, and relevant accreditations.
A90–100
B80–89
C70–79
D60–69
F< 60

Automatic red-flag caps

Some practices are serious enough that they cap the grade no matter how many points a clinic earns elsewhere. A cap sets the maximum possible grade.

  • Prescribes GLP-1s with no clinical evaluation → capped at C.
  • No named prescriber or no traceable license → capped at D.
  • Undisclosed medication sourcing or no named dispensing pharmacy → capped at C (D if actively obscured).
  • “Guaranteed approval,” “everyone qualifies,” or a prescription-first funnel that sells before evaluating → capped at D.
  • No adverse-event escalation path or no follow-up plan → capped at C.
  • Material commercial relationship not clearly disclosed on the graded page → capped at D.
  • Compounded product described as, or implying, FDA approval → F.
  • “Research chemical / not for human consumption” framing, or selling GLP-1s as research peptides → F.
  • Unrealistic weight-loss guarantees or “no lifestyle change needed” marketing → capped at D.

Verification tiers

Not every clinic in our database is graded. The tier tells you exactly how much scrutiny is behind what you see.

TierWhat it means
ListedPublic data only. Not graded — there is not enough public information to score the clinic fairly.
VerifiedWe independently confirmed licensing and medication sourcing.
GradedThe full seven-dimension rubric was applied, with a dated evidence note.

In v1 we grade only a curated set of clinics we can fully evaluate. Everything else stays Listed, not graded. We never auto-score thin data to manufacture a grade. A low grade on incomplete evidence is exactly the mistake we refuse to make. Grades scale as clinics are manually enriched, and each graded clinic gets its own dossier page: the grade, a dated score breakdown, an evidence table with sources, a reviewer byline, an explicit “what we verified / what we could not verify,” and a right-of-reply status.

What a grade means (and doesn’t)

A GLP-1 Grades score rates the strength of a clinic’s publicly documented safety, transparency, and compliance practices. It is not a measure of patient outcomes, not an endorsement, not a claim that the care is actually safe or clinically superior, and not medical advice. A high grade means transparent, medically supervised, honestly marketed care. A low grade means opacity or red flags.

  • We separate observed facts from our editorial scoring judgment on every graded page.
  • Every material factual claim cites a primary source or a written response from the clinic.
  • We prefer “Listed / insufficient public evidence” over a low grade when the facts are thin.
  • We publish a correction policy and a right-of-reply workflow, and we log clinic responses.
  • Sponsorship or featured placement is firewalled from grading and would be conspicuously disclosed if it ever existed. It never changes a grade.

Grades reflect disclosed transparency and practices from public sources, are informational, and are not medical advice, an endorsement, or a guarantee of care quality or outcomes. Always verify a clinic’s credentials directly with the clinic and your state medical board. See our medical review policy for how clinical claims on this site are checked, or compare graded clinics.