By Sneha S K

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Telehealth company HealthTap said on

Wednesday it is joining Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) digital healthcare

platform, LillyDirect, to offer virtual diabetes management

services.

Diabetic patients across the U.S. would have access to

HealthTap's primary care physicians through the platform.

The company said its clinicians support medication

management, lab review and preventive care tailored to each

patient's condition, as the company's model focuses on

maintaining a long-term relationship with one doctor to provide

holistic care.

WHY IT MATTERS

Telehealth firms, along with weight-loss drug makers Lilly and

Novo Nordisk, pharmacies, and related entities, have

launched several direct-to-consumer offerings to tap into the

extraordinary demand for GLP-1 drugs used to treat diabetes and

obesity.

CONTEXT

In April, another primary care provider, knownwell, said it will

provide health and weight-management services through

LillyDirect.

Lilly has also expanded its LillyDirect platform to include

telehealth providers that diagnose and care for patients with

Alzheimer's disease.

KEY QUOTE

"As Lilly markets its website as a destination for consumers and

grows their traffic base, we get to tap into it in a very

relevant way, because essentially, they're doing the marketing

to attract consumers seeking primary care and we're being

presented as an option for them," HealthTap co-founder and CEO

Sean Mehra told Reuters.