Titration
Titration is the clinical practice of adjusting a medication dose stepwise — starting low and increasing on a schedule — to reach effectiveness while managing side effects.
- Stepwise dose adjustment toward effect and tolerability
- Core to GLP-1, HRT, and psychiatric medication programs
- Each step is a clinical decision, not an automatic increase
- Drives refill cadence, check-in design, and inventory
Why titration is everywhere in DTC categories
The flagship DTC therapies are titration-native. GLP-1 programs climb a multi-week dose ladder to manage GI tolerability; HRT adjusts against symptoms and lab values; sleep and psychiatric medications step to effect. Titration is why these programs are subscriptions with clinical checkpoints rather than one-time prescriptions — each step is a clinical decision informed by patient response.
What titration means for program design
Dose schedules drive everything operational: refill cadences must match the ladder, check-ins must capture the data that justifies the next step, pharmacy inventory must stock every rung, and clinicians need protocol guardrails for holding or reversing doses. Programs that treat titration as an operational primitive — not an ad-hoc clinical note — get retention and safety in the same design.
Compliance handled, so you can build
Lithos runs the clinicians, pharmacies, and 50-state rules behind your care program — one API.
Frequently asked questions
Why do GLP-1 doses start low?
To manage gastrointestinal side effects while the body adjusts — the multi-week ramp is part of the approved dosing design.
Who decides when to increase a dose?
A licensed clinician, based on response and side effects — protocols guide the ladder, clinicians own each step.
How does titration affect refills?
Dose changes change the product shipped; refill automation must track the ladder, not just the calendar.