Your Patients Are Struggling to Find Rybelsus — Here's How You Can Help

As a prescriber, you know the frustration: you write a clinically appropriate prescription for Rybelsus, and your patient calls back days later saying they can't find it. The pharmacy is out of stock. The next pharmacy doesn't carry it. And now your patient's glycemic control is at risk.

The GLP-1 supply situation has improved in 2026, but Rybelsus availability remains inconsistent at many pharmacies. As the provider, you're in a unique position to help your patients navigate these challenges proactively rather than reactively.

This guide offers five concrete steps you can take, along with alternative therapy options and workflow tips to reduce the burden on your practice.

For the broader supply context, see our provider shortage briefing.

Current Availability: What to Expect

As of early 2026, Rybelsus supply has stabilized at the wholesale level but continues to experience intermittent retail-level stock-outs. Key patterns:

• The 3 mg dose (starter) is generally the easiest to find
• The 7 mg and 14 mg doses experience more frequent stock-outs
• Chain pharmacies are most likely to run low due to high patient volumes
• Independent and specialty pharmacies tend to have more reliable supply
• Availability varies significantly by region — urban areas with more pharmacy options generally fare better

Why Your Patients Can't Find Rybelsus

Understanding the root causes helps you counsel patients effectively:

1. Demand still exceeds supply for the oral formulation specifically — many patients prefer pills over injections
2. Insurance barriers including prior authorization and step therapy slow the process, and prescriptions may expire before they're filled
3. Patients often check only their usual pharmacy and don't know about alternatives
4. Cost shock — patients without robust coverage may abandon prescriptions when they see $900+ cash prices

5 Steps to Help Your Patients Get Their Rybelsus

Step 1: Verify Availability Before the Patient Leaves

Use Medfinder for providers to check real-time pharmacy availability while the patient is still in your office. This takes less than a minute and can prevent days of phone tag between your patient and their pharmacy.

If Rybelsus is available at a pharmacy near them, send the prescription directly there. If it's not, you can immediately discuss alternatives or help them find a pharmacy with stock.

Step 2: Prescribe to Pharmacies With Stock

Rather than defaulting to the patient's usual chain pharmacy, consider directing prescriptions to pharmacies you've confirmed have Rybelsus. This is especially valuable for:

• New starts where the patient hasn't established a pharmacy preference for this medication
• Dose escalation refills where the next strength may not be in stock at the current pharmacy
• Patients who have experienced repeated stock-outs at their regular pharmacy

Independent pharmacies and specialty pharmacies often maintain more reliable GLP-1 supply. Mail-order pharmacies are another option, particularly for stable, maintenance patients.

Step 3: Proactively Manage Prior Authorization

Many commercial insurance plans and Medicare Part D plans require prior authorization for Rybelsus. Delays in PA processing are one of the most common reasons prescriptions go unfilled.

Best practices:

• Submit PA paperwork at the time of prescribing, not after the pharmacy sends a rejection
• Document medical necessity clearly, including HbA1c values, prior medication trials, and clinical rationale for oral vs. injectable GLP-1
• Use payer-specific PA forms when available to reduce back-and-forth
• Designate a staff member to follow up on pending PAs within 48 hours

Step 4: Connect Patients With Financial Assistance

Cost barriers are intertwined with access barriers. A patient who finds Rybelsus in stock but faces a $900 cash price may still walk away without their medication.

Key resources to share with patients:

• Novo Nordisk Savings Card: As little as $10/month for eligible commercially insured patients
• NovoCare Patient Assistance Program: Free Rybelsus for qualifying uninsured/underinsured patients (≤400% FPL). Apply at novocare.com or 1-888-693-8276
• Discount cards: GoodRx, SingleCare, and RxSaver may offer modest discounts

Direct patients to our savings guide: How to save money on Rybelsus.

For provider-specific cost navigation strategies, see: How to help patients save money on Rybelsus.

Step 5: Educate Patients on Self-Advocacy

Empower patients to take an active role in finding their medication. Key points to communicate:

• Use Medfinder to check pharmacy stock before visiting
• Request refills 7-10 days early
• Consider independent and specialty pharmacies
• Ask the pharmacist about expected delivery dates when stock is low
• Prescriptions can be transferred between pharmacies

You can share these patient-facing resources:
How to find Rybelsus in stock near you
How to check if a pharmacy has Rybelsus in stock

Alternative Therapies When Rybelsus Is Unavailable

When a patient cannot access Rybelsus despite best efforts, have a documented alternative therapy plan ready:

Same-Molecule Switch: Ozempic

Converting from oral to injectable Semaglutide is the most straightforward alternative. Approximate dose conversions:

• Rybelsus 7 mg daily → Ozempic 0.5 mg weekly
• Rybelsus 14 mg daily → Ozempic 1 mg weekly

Class Alternatives

• Mounjaro (Tirzepatide): Dual GIP/GLP-1 agonist; may offer superior A1c reduction and weight loss. Requires new prior authorization in most cases.
• Trulicity (Dulaglutide): Established GLP-1 agonist with proven CVOT data (REWIND trial). Generally better availability than Semaglutide products.

Different-Class Oral Option

• Jardiance (Empagliflozin): SGLT2 inhibitor. Oral tablet, once daily, no food timing restrictions. Different mechanism but provides A1c reduction with proven CV and renal benefits. More widely available and often less expensive.

For the full comparison, see: Alternatives to Rybelsus.

Workflow Tips for Your Practice

Integrating access navigation into your clinical workflow doesn't have to be burdensome. Here are practical suggestions:

• Designate an "access coordinator" — a staff member (MA, nurse, pharmacy tech) who handles PA submissions, savings card enrollment, and pharmacy availability checks
• Bookmark Medfinder for providers on all prescribing workstations for quick availability checks during patient visits
• Create a GLP-1 alternatives cheat sheet for your prescribers with dose conversions, PA requirements by major payer, and patient assistance program details
• Set up EHR templates for GLP-1 prior authorization that auto-populate clinical data (A1c, BMI, prior meds)
• Batch PA follow-ups — have your access coordinator check pending PAs every morning

Final Thoughts

Helping patients access Rybelsus in 2026 requires a proactive, systems-level approach. By verifying availability before prescribing, managing prior authorizations efficiently, connecting patients with financial resources, and maintaining ready alternative therapy plans, you can significantly reduce treatment interruptions and improve outcomes.

Tools like Medfinder make it easier to integrate availability checking into your workflow without adding significant time to each encounter. The goal is simple: ensure that when you make the clinical decision to prescribe Rybelsus, your patient can actually get it.