How to help your patients find Mounjaro in stock: A provider's guide

How to help your patients find Mounjaro in stock

If you prescribe Mounjaro (tirzepatide), you've almost certainly heard from patients struggling to fill their prescriptions. Even though the FDA officially resolved the tirzepatide shortage in October 2024, real-world availability remains inconsistent at the pharmacy level. Patients are calling your office frustrated, and your staff is spending time they don't have playing phone tag with pharmacies.

This guide covers what's actually happening with Mounjaro supply in 2026, why your patients are still running into problems, and the most effective steps you and your team can take to help them stay on therapy.

The current state of Mounjaro availability in 2026

As of 2026, tirzepatide is no longer on the FDA's drug shortage list. The FDA first removed it in October 2024 after determining that Eli Lilly's manufacturing capacity could meet national demand. After legal challenges from compounding pharmacies, the FDA reaffirmed this decision in December 2024, and a federal court upheld it in May 2025.

Eli Lilly reports that all six dose strengths of Mounjaro (2.5mg through 15mg) are available and that production capacity continues to increase. However, the FDA has acknowledged that "intermittent localized supply disruptions" can still occur as the medication moves through the supply chain.

In practical terms, this means the medication exists in the supply chain, but individual pharmacies may not have it on the shelf when your patient needs it.

Why your patients still can't find Mounjaro

Understanding the root causes helps you advise patients more effectively and set realistic expectations.

Wholesaler allocation limits

Pharmacies receive Mounjaro through wholesalers like McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen. These wholesalers often cap how much a pharmacy can order in a given period, regardless of patient demand. A pharmacy may want to stock more Mounjaro but simply can't get it from their distributor in the quantity they need.

Demand concentration

Mounjaro prescriptions continue to grow rapidly. Pharmacies in high-density areas or those near large prescribing practices can exhaust their allocation quickly, leaving patients who arrive later in the week or month without options.

Pharmacy economics

Mounjaro is an expensive, refrigerated medication. Some pharmacies — particularly smaller independents with tighter margins — limit how much they keep on hand due to the carrying cost and financial risk of holding high-value inventory. Ironically, these same independents may actually have more flexibility in ordering from alternative distributors when they do choose to stock it.

Post-compounding transition

The FDA's enforcement deadlines for compounded tirzepatide (February–March 2025) pushed a significant number of patients back to branded Mounjaro and Zepbound, adding demand pressure that the supply chain is still absorbing.

What you can do to help your patients

There are several concrete steps providers can take to reduce the burden on patients and keep them adherent to therapy.

1. Use the Medfinder provider portal

The most efficient way to help your patients find Mounjaro is to use the Medfinder provider portal. Medfinder allows your practice to initiate a pharmacy search on behalf of a patient, checking multiple pharmacies in their area for current stock. This eliminates the back-and-forth of patients calling your office after being turned away, and saves your staff time on pharmacy outreach.

You can integrate this into your prescribing workflow: when writing a new Mounjaro prescription or handling a refill issue, run a quick search on Medfinder and send the prescription directly to a pharmacy that has it in stock.

2. Advise patients to plan ahead

Encourage patients to contact their pharmacy approximately one week before they need their refill. This gives the pharmacy time to order the specific dose if it's not currently in stock. Patients who wait until they're out of medication have far fewer options.

3. Recommend trying independent pharmacies

Independent pharmacies often use different wholesalers or have access to secondary distributors that chain pharmacies do not. They may also be more willing to special-order specific doses for established patients. If a patient is repeatedly hitting dead ends at CVS or Walgreens, suggesting a local independent can make a real difference.

4. Prescribe with flexibility in mind

When clinically appropriate, consider whether dose flexibility could help your patient. For example, if a patient's target dose is temporarily unavailable, discuss whether a brief period at an adjacent dose is acceptable while they secure their usual strength. This is a clinical judgment call, but having the conversation proactively can prevent treatment gaps.

5. Ensure patients know about savings programs

Cost is a major barrier to Mounjaro adherence. Make sure your patients are aware of Eli Lilly's savings card, which can bring the cost down to $25 per 28-day fill for eligible commercially insured patients. For uninsured or underinsured patients, the Lilly Cares patient assistance program may provide Mounjaro at no cost. Your staff can help patients enroll or direct them to the appropriate resources.

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The compounding question: What providers need to know

During the tirzepatide shortage, many patients accessed compounded versions through telehealth platforms and compounding pharmacies at significantly lower cost. With the FDA's shortage resolution and subsequent enforcement deadlines (February 18, 2025 for 503A pharmacies; March 19, 2025 for 503B outsourcing facilities), compounded tirzepatide is no longer broadly available.

If you have patients who were previously on compounded tirzepatide, they will need to transition to FDA-approved Mounjaro or Zepbound. Key considerations for this transition include potential dosing differences between compounded and branded formulations, significantly higher cost for the branded product (which makes savings program enrollment critical), and the need to verify that the patient's insurance covers the branded medication or to assist with prior authorization.

The FDA has also warned about substandard compounded products, including those using tirzepatide salt forms that are not the same as the FDA-approved free-base form, which could lead to dosing errors.

Alternative GLP-1 options to discuss with patients

If a patient truly cannot access Mounjaro despite your best efforts, or if cost remains prohibitive, there are alternative GLP-1 options worth discussing.

Zepbound (tirzepatide): Same active ingredient as Mounjaro, FDA-approved for chronic weight management and obstructive sleep apnea. May have different insurance coverage. Worth exploring if the patient's primary indication is weight management rather than type 2 diabetes.

Ozempic/Wegovy (semaglutide): GLP-1 receptor agonist with strong clinical evidence. Wegovy is specifically approved for weight management. Semaglutide may have different availability patterns than tirzepatide.

Oral Wegovy (oral semaglutide): FDA-approved in December 2025 for chronic weight management. The first oral GLP-1 for this indication, which may appeal to patients who prefer not to inject.

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Streamlining your practice workflow

Medication access issues consume significant staff time. Here are ways to reduce that burden.

First, designate a point person on your team for medication access issues. Having one staff member who understands the landscape, knows the savings programs, and is familiar with tools like the Medfinder provider portal creates efficiency.

Second, build availability checks into your prescribing process. Before sending a prescription, take 60 seconds to verify that the pharmacy has stock. This prevents the cycle of rejected fills, patient callbacks, and re-sent prescriptions.

Third, keep a list of pharmacies in your area that reliably stock GLP-1 medications. Independent pharmacies that have invested in this category can become go-to referrals for your patients.

Final thoughts

The Mounjaro shortage may be officially resolved, but the practical challenges of getting patients their medication persist. Providers who proactively address these challenges — through tools like the Medfinder provider portal, patient education on timing and pharmacy selection, and awareness of savings programs — can meaningfully improve adherence and patient outcomes.

Your patients trust your guidance. Helping them navigate the pharmacy landscape is an extension of the care you're already providing.

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