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There's been a shift in how some medicines and therapeutic products are accessed and used.

Medicinal cannabis, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) weight-loss medicines, ketamine, psychedelics, testosterone and peptides illustrate this shift.

Increasingly, consumer demand, telehealth, social media, wellness influencers and commercial models are shaping how people learn about and access these treatments.

This is different from the traditional doctor-led model, in which medicines are generally tested, approved and included in clinical guidelines.

Now we're seeing what happens when strong consumer demand collides with commercial interests.

Improved access to certain medicines has benefits if those medicines are safe, effective and prescribed and monitored with proper oversight.

A recent example is the launch of LillyDirect, Eli Lilly's new Australian platform. The platform currently focuses on Mounjaro (tirzepatide), a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes and manage weight. Patients with an electronic prescription can upload it to the platform and have the medicine dispensed through an online pharmacy and delivered directly to their door.

But doctors and pharmacists have raised concerns about the lack of continuity of care and what happens when prescribing, dispensing and ongoing clinical care become increasingly separated.

It is a timely example of what happens when strong consumer demand meets commercial innovation.

Ketamine is another example. It has long been used as an anesthetic. But its use for mental health conditions has expanded , including through private clinics offering ketamine treatment .

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