Gentle Health now serves Missouri. Missouri patients can request an evaluation with James Simmons, MD, for weight-management treatment, including compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide when medically appropriate. Care is provided through telehealth; a prescription is not guaranteed.
Missouri joins our current service area, which now includes 40 states and Washington, DC. This expansion is about where we can provide care, not a change in the standard for prescribing: each patient needs an individual medical evaluation.
This page explains how to start, what the published dose tiers cost, and how to check a physician’s credentials. It is published by Gentle Health and describes our own service, not an independent ranking of providers.
How do I start GLP-1 care in Missouri?
Start with the Missouri state page and the medical intake on our site. Tell us your medical history, current medications, and what you are seeking help with. The care team will confirm the next evaluation step; do not assume that submitting a questionnaire alone completes the medical evaluation or guarantees medication.
The process has three parts:
- Share your health information. Give complete, accurate answers so the clinician can assess whether treatment may be appropriate.
- Complete the required clinical evaluation. Dr. Simmons determines what additional information or interaction is needed and whether to prescribe. An appointment or completed intake is not an approval to start medication.
- Review the treatment and cost before ordering. If medication is prescribed, confirm the formulation, dose instructions, monthly price, and pharmacy information before requesting a shipment.
Our Missouri state page describes the current workflow: a licensed physician reviews your medical intake online and decides whether a video visit is needed. We explain the general difference between asynchronous review and a scheduled video visit in how our prescribing process varies by state. Confirm the requirements for your own evaluation with our care team; the workflow does not remove the prescribing requirements discussed below.
What should Missouri patients check about telehealth prescribing?
Missouri requires a properly established physician-patient relationship. Its physician-patient relationship statute, section 191.1146, allows that relationship to be established through a telemedicine encounter when the standard of care does not require an in-person encounter, subject to the statute’s other conditions. The clinician must evaluate the patient and review relevant medical history; the technology and examination must be sufficient for diagnosis and treatment.
A separate provision, section 334.108, addresses prescribing through telemedicine or the internet, including medical history, discussion of treatment risks and benefits, appropriate follow-up, and medical records. These requirements are why an online order is not a substitute for a clinician’s evaluation.
There is an additional prescribing restriction in section 334.108.3. It prohibits prescribing based solely on a telemedicine evaluation, with an exception for the specified clinicians acting within their scope when a previously established and ongoing physician-patient relationship exists. That restriction must be considered alongside the relationship-establishment rules above. A new patient should not assume that one online form or telemedicine encounter is enough to receive a first prescription; the care team must determine the required steps for that patient’s circumstances.
Questionnaire-based evaluations have additional conditions. Under section 191.1146.2(3), a provider using a questionnaire to establish the relationship must be employed by or contracted with a business entity licensed to provide health care in Missouri. Section 191.1146.3 also requires a provider using an internet or telephone medical-evaluation questionnaire to send a written report to the patient’s primary care provider within 14 days of evaluation, if the patient supplies that provider. The report includes the patient’s identity, evaluation date, diagnosis and treatment if any, and further instructions.
Those are selected requirements, not a determination that any particular intake method meets every Missouri rule. Our care team can explain the visit requirements for your evaluation.
Who provides care, and how can I verify the Missouri license?
James Simmons, MD, provides the medical care at Gentle Health. Use the Missouri Division of Professional Registration’s public license search to check the physician’s record. Confirm that the name, profession, license status, and any restrictions match the clinician treating you.
Our Missouri state page lists Dr. Simmons’s Missouri license number as 2026045637. Use that number in the official lookup above. A page describing a service is not itself proof of licensure; the licensing authority’s record is the source to check.
The pharmacy is a separate verification question. Ask which pharmacy will fill the prescription and how to verify its authority to dispense to a Missouri patient. Our terms of service explain Gentle Health’s role in coordinating care and pharmacy fulfillment.
What does compounded GLP-1 treatment cost at Gentle Health?
The monthly price depends on the medication, route, and prescribed dose tier. The oral semaglutide starting tier is $112 per month; injectable semaglutide starts at $135, and injectable tirzepatide starts at $169. The higher tiers are listed below so you can see more than the lowest advertised price.
These are Gentle Health’s published program prices, not prices for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound. Dose tiers describe pricing, not instructions to choose or increase a dose yourself. Your clinician determines the treatment and dosing instructions.
Oral compounded semaglutide
| Tier | Daily dose | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| Starting | 2-4 mg/day | $112/mo |
| Medium | >4-8 mg/day | $189/mo |
| High dose | >8-12 mg/day | $258/mo |
Injectable compounded semaglutide
| Tier | Weekly dose | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| Starting | 0.24-0.48 mg/wk | $135/mo |
| Medium | >0.48-1.2 mg/wk | $159/mo |
| High dose | >1.2-2.4 mg/wk | $199/mo |
Injectable compounded tirzepatide
| Tier | Weekly dose | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| Starting | 2.5-5 mg/wk | $169/mo |
| Medium | >5-10 mg/wk | $219/mo |
| High dose | >10-15 mg/wk | $269/mo |
The medication, initial clinical review, video visits and messaging, and overnight refrigerated shipping are included in the published monthly price. There is no separate membership fee. The full pricing reference is on our service-area page linked above.
Treatment is a recurring monthly subscription with a two-month minimum commitment: you are billed when you start and again one month later, because we send two months or more of medication at a time, depending on your dose, to save on refrigerated overnight shipping. After each refill, you can cancel 30 days after you requested it. Cancelling takes effect immediately and stops future billing and shipments, but the remainder of the current billing month is not refunded. Read the terms before ordering rather than assuming a monthly price means every payment is refundable.
Is compounded semaglutide the same as Wegovy or Ozempic?
No. A compounded preparation is not an FDA-approved generic or an interchangeable version of a branded medicine. Gentle Health does not sell Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound and is not affiliated with their manufacturers.
Compounding involves preparing a medication for a patient’s needs rather than dispensing the manufacturer’s finished product. The FDA explains the distinction between compounded and approved generic drugs in its compounding questions and answers.
Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, and FDA does not review them for safety, effectiveness, or quality before marketing. FDA advises that compounded drugs be used only when an FDA-approved drug cannot meet the patient’s medical needs. A lower price alone is not a medical determination that a compounded preparation is appropriate. See FDA’s concerns about unapproved GLP-1 drugs.
Frequently asked questions
Does Gentle Health now serve Missouri? Yes. Missouri has joined our service area. Patients can request an evaluation; treatment still depends on individual clinical eligibility and the prescriber’s decision.
Can I request care from St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, or Columbia? Yes, if you are in Missouri. Our Missouri coverage is not limited to one city. Gentle Health provides telehealth care; this announcement is not an announcement of physical offices in those cities. If you are in Kansas rather than Missouri, use the state information that matches your location.
Do I have to choose a medication or dose before the evaluation? No. You can discuss your goals and questions with the clinician. The price tables help explain costs; they do not replace an individual prescribing decision.
Does a Missouri license make compounded medication FDA-approved? No. A physician’s license and a drug’s FDA approval are different things. Missouri licensure does not change the approval status of a compounded preparation or remove the requirements that apply to compounding.
By James Simmons, MD
Compounded medications are not FDA-approved. Treatment subject to medical evaluation.