If your clinic stops prescribing or your GLP-1 supply runs out, do not stop or change the medication on your own: ask the prescriber who knows your dose. If you move to GetLean, your existing dose can typically be continued rather than restarted, where clinically appropriate. Do not bridge the gap with an unverified seller: two of four weight-loss products named in one HSA alert contained sibutramine (HSA).

What should you do first if your supply is about to run out?

Do not change or stop it yourself, and ask the prescriber who knows your dose.

Never change or stop a prescribed medication on your own. A dose decision is a clinical one, and the prescriber who knows your dose and schedule is the person to ask. If you are not sure when your last dose was, or doses have been missed, the Singapore instruction for missed doses, and why a restart dose is a prescriber's decision, are set out in what to do if you miss a GLP-1 dose.

If you feel unwell, seek medical attention and tell the clinician what you take. In an emergency, call 995 or go to your nearest hospital emergency department.

What does the medical regulator's code say when a doctor's care ends?

It asks the doctor to make the handover smooth, and gives patients a right to their medical information.

The Singapore Medical Council's code covers several situations. If a doctor can no longer continue to provide care to a patient, they must explain this to the patient before ending the relationship, offer to refer the patient to other doctors and facilitate a smooth handover of care by providing the new doctors with the necessary medical information, and continue to provide essential care, if the patient wants, until the care has been properly taken over. If a doctor is retiring, withdrawing from practice or reducing their patient list, they must where possible inform patients who need continued care in advance, offer to transfer medical records or provide medical reports, with the patient's consent, to the new doctors, and make provisions for continued care until the transfer is effected (SMC).

Separately, patients have a right to their medical information, though not the physical records or the original digital records. When asked, and unless there are exceptional circumstances, a doctor makes that information available, for example as a medical summary or report (SMC). A summary or report from your current clinic is one way to bring recent records to a new consultation.

Will there be a gap in your medication if you move to GetLean?

That is one of the first things Dr Quek sorts out. Tell us which GLP-1 medication and dose you are currently taking when you book your consult, and bring any recent records to your consultation.

Where it is clinically appropriate, your existing dose can typically be continued rather than restarted, and where a prescription is issued, first delivery is typically the next working day after your consultation. Nothing is prescribed or dispensed before Dr Quek has assessed you, and a consultation does not guarantee that a prescription will be issued.

What the consultation involves is the same for anyone new to the clinic. A telemedicine licensee must see a first-time patient, meaning one who has not received an outpatient medical service from that licensee, through real-time two-way audiovisual communication (OMS Regulations). We walk through the steps in already on a GLP-1? How switching clinics works in Singapore, and what to have ready is in what to bring to your first consultation. How medication reaches you once a prescription is issued is covered in how medication delivery works with a licensed clinic.

Why is an unverified seller the wrong way to bridge a gap?

Because nobody can check what is in the vial, how it was stored, or what dose it holds.

MOH has told Parliament that GLP-1 medicines can only be dispensed by a registered medical practitioner or a licensed retail pharmacy to a patient with a valid prescription (MOH 2024). HSA's advice is direct: "Do not buy products from unknown or unverifiable sources, and exercise caution when buying online or from overseas" (HSA). In one alert it named four weight-loss products sold online, and two of them contained sibutramine, disallowed for sale in Singapore since 2010 because of the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes (HSA). The wider picture is in compounded semaglutide and Telegram sellers: the real risk.

Where does the end of treatment fit when you change clinic?

A change of clinic is a natural point to set out the whole plan, including how treatment ends.

At GetLean, the programme is designed to end: our philosophy is that GLP-1 medication should act as a catalyst — not something to depend on indefinitely. The plan for coming off is the GetLean GLP-1 Taper Plan: after hitting your goal weight with the right nutrition and exercise habits built, the dose is stepped down at Dr Quek's monthly reviews towards your lowest effective dose and, where clinically appropriate, off the medication. Dr Quek reviews your dose regularly with the aim of reaching your lowest effective dose and, where clinically appropriate, a planned exit. We welcome people who are already on treatment, whether they plan to continue for now or to work toward coming off it eventually. Coming off GLP-1 in Singapore: what happens and how to plan and designed to end: planning a GLP-1 exit explain the plan in full.

Individual circumstances vary, and whether treatment is appropriate for you is a decision for the doctor who has assessed you.

Common questions

What should I do if my clinic stops prescribing my GLP-1 medication?

Do not stop or change the medication on your own. Ask the prescriber who knows your dose, and if care is moving to a new doctor, ask for a medical summary or report to bring. A doctor registered in Singapore has to assess you before prescribing, and a new telemedicine clinic sees a first-time patient by video.

Can I just stop my GLP-1 medication while I find a new doctor?

Never change or stop a prescribed medication on your own. A dose decision is a clinical one, so tell a doctor what you take and when the supply will run out.

I am already on treatment, so will there be a gap in my medication if I move to GetLean?

That is one of the first things Dr Quek sorts out. Tell us which GLP-1 medication and dose you are currently taking when you book your consult, and bring any recent records to your consultation. Where it is clinically appropriate, your existing dose can typically be continued rather than restarted, and where a prescription is issued, first delivery is typically the next working day after your consultation. Nothing is prescribed or dispensed before Dr Quek has assessed you, and a consultation does not guarantee that a prescription will be issued.

Is it safe to use an online or Telegram seller to bridge a gap in supply?

HSA's advice is not to buy products from unknown or unverifiable sources, and to exercise caution when buying online or from overseas (HSA). In one alert, two of four weight-loss products it named contained sibutramine, which has been disallowed for sale in Singapore since 2010.

Can I ask my current clinic for my records when care moves?

Patients have a right to their medical information, though not the physical records, and on request a doctor makes it available, for example as a medical summary or report. The code also asks a doctor who is ending care to offer a smooth handover with the necessary medical information (SMC).