Questions people ask before they start.

Who can become a patient?

Adults 18 and older who live in South Carolina.

Simply Metabolic Physicians is licensed in South Carolina and currently serves South Carolina residents only. Patients should keep their primary care physician: the practice focuses on weight management and does not treat unrelated medical conditions.

Is care entirely online?

Yes. Every visit is by video, and everything between visits is by secure messaging.

There is no in-person clinic. The Mount Pleasant address on this site is the practice’s mailing address, not a place patients visit.

Will I see the same physician every time?

Yes. Dr. Robak evaluates you, treats you, and follows up with you throughout your care.

Theodore “TJ” Robak, MD is board-certified in obesity medicine and is the practice’s only physician. There is no rotating team.

What is the difference between Essential Care and the Comprehensive Evaluation?

Essential Care is $99 a month. The Comprehensive Evaluation is a $299 initial 60-minute video visit. The medical care is the same; the plans differ in consultation time, follow-up format, messaging speed, and administrative support.

Essential Care begins with detailed messaging about your history and a brief video encounter, with routine follow-up by messaging or video as determined by your doctor, and physician messages answered within 1 to 2 business days. The Comprehensive Evaluation begins with a 60-minute video visit and a written plan, and its ongoing care includes video follow-up visits, priority messaging, and prior-authorization assistance where applicable. See Essential Care or the Comprehensive Evaluation, or compare the two side by side.

What do the physician fees include, and what do they not include?

Fees cover your physician’s time: evaluation, follow-up, and messaging. They never include medication or lab testing, which you pay to the pharmacy or laboratory you choose.

Essential Care’s $99 a month covers the physician evaluation, routine follow-up, and physician messaging. It does not include prior-authorization or insurance-navigation services, or extra video appointments you request between routine follow-ups. The $299 Comprehensive Evaluation covers a 60-minute video visit, a written plan that is yours to keep, and 14 days of messaging afterward; ongoing care after it is a separate membership, $199 a month or $894 total for six months with the $299 credited. Neither plan includes lab testing. Existing results can be reviewed, and testing your physician determines is needed may create an additional cost.

Do you bill insurance?

No. This is a direct-care practice: you pay the practice directly, and visit and membership fees are not billed to insurance. Your insurance may still cover the medication itself.

Medication is filled at the pharmacy you choose and paid there, so your pharmacy benefit applies in the usual way. If your plan fully covers a weight-loss medication, your cost at the pharmacy can be as low as $0 a month. Without coverage, brand-name GLP-1 options are available for as little as $149 a month cash pay through manufacturer savings programs, and the exact price depends on the medication, the dose, and the program you qualify for. Coverage varies widely, and some plans do not cover weight-loss medication at all. See what medication costs.

Which plan includes prior-authorization help?

The Comprehensive Evaluation’s ongoing care includes prior-authorization assistance where applicable. Essential Care does not.

Prior authorization is the process some insurance plans require before they will cover a medication. With Essential Care, your physician prescribes when clinically appropriate, but the prior-authorization paperwork and insurance navigation are not part of the service.

Do you prescribe brand-name or compounded weight-loss medications?

Brand-name only. The practice does not use compounded weight-loss medications.

When medication is appropriate, your prescription is sent to the local or mail-order pharmacy of your choosing and filled there. Brand-name GLP-1 options include Zepbound, Wegovy, the Wegovy pill, and Foundayo. Medication is prescribed only when clinically appropriate after evaluation, and no medication, prescription, or result is guaranteed.

How do I get started, and what happens at the first visit?

Answer a few eligibility questions, enroll, and share your history. Then you meet your doctor by video.

For Essential Care: first a short set of questions confirms you are an adult in South Carolina. Then you complete enrollment and share your medical history in detail through messaging, so your doctor has what they need before you meet. Your doctor then meets you for a brief video encounter, followed by treatment and routine follow-up if care is appropriate for you. For the Comprehensive Evaluation, the first visit is a 60-minute video visit with Dr. Robak, booked through the Comprehensive Evaluation page.

Can I cancel, and is there a refund?

Yes. Both plans are month to month, and you can cancel at any time.

Essential Care: if you are not satisfied with a month of care, you can request a refund for that month. Comprehensive Evaluation: if you complete your initial visit and do not feel you got real value from it, Dr. Robak will schedule one additional visit at no charge, and if you are still not satisfied after that, he will refund your $299 in full. That guarantee covers the value of the visit itself, not any treatment or outcome. The ongoing membership after the Comprehensive Evaluation is also month to month and can be cancelled at any time.

Is a prescription guaranteed?

No. Prescribing is a clinical decision your physician makes after evaluating you.

GLP-1 and other weight-loss medications may be considered when medically appropriate. No specific medication, prescription, insurance approval, or weight-loss result is promised.