Ginger, the leader in on-demand mental healthcare, today announced a partnership with Capsule, the nation’s largest independent digital pharmacy, to provide Ginger members with an effortless way to receive and manage mental health medications safely from their homes. With Capsule’s end-to-end technology platform, this partnership builds on Ginger’s comprehensive approach to medication management, which brings together a team of behavioral health coaches, therapists, and psychiatrists who work together to prescribe medications, support adherence, and transition members off of medications when appropriate.
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The current state of mental health medications (Graphic: Business Wire)
Ginger’s new medication management partnership with Capsule will help to:
- Reduce barriers to prescription adherence: After a consultation with a Ginger board-certified psychiatrist, members will have the option to fill their scripts cost-effectively through Capsule, with free home delivery.
- Improve care with visibility into prescribing data: With Capsule’s technology platform, Ginger’s prescribing psychiatrists will have visibility into medication fill rates, associated adverse events, and other data necessary to ensure the safety, efficacy, and appropriateness of members’ medication regimens.
- Curtail employer spending while improving health outcomes: The option for seamless home-delivery of medications can help employers save on prescription spend. Ginger members’ are treated and supervised within a team-based care model, which includes behavioral health coaches, licensed therapists, and psychiatrists. In a recent study published in JMIR, 60% of individuals in Ginger’s team-based care model experienced a reduction in their anxiety symptoms.
Mental health prescriptions have skyrocketed in recent years. Antidepressants are taken by 16% of people in the U.S. and are projected to be a $16B industry by 2023. Yet the majority of these medication regimens are taken without regular professional supervision; nearly 70% of Americans taking a single antidepressant have not seen a mental health professional in the past year. When left unmanaged, mental health prescription usage can result in adverse interactions, unnecessary medication dependency, and poor transition on and off medications. Employers also bear the cost of unmanaged prescription usage. A recent report from the Pacific Business Group on Health cites that while only 2.2% of wasteful prescriptions are classified as antidepressants, they represent 6.5% of potential prescription savings for employers.
“We have extensive evidence that when indicated and appropriately prescribed, medications can be a very helpful addition to the treatment of patients with behavioral health diagnoses,” said Dr. Jon Kole, Director of Psychiatry at Ginger. “However, one of the greatest challenges we face in psychiatry, exacerbated by the high demand for care during COVID-19, is the information gap between provider prescriptions and patient use. This can lead to increased risks of medication mis-management and poor outcomes. Ginger’s partnership with a market leader like Capsule not only improves convenience for our members, but provides vital feedback to our psychiatry team to provide the highest quality, evidence-based, patient-centered care.”
“Psychiatric disorders are serious conditions which require serious and thoughtful treatments, including psychiatric medications,” said Dr. Andrew Nierenberg, Director of the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Any system which enhances access and encourages patients to take these medications as prescribed will be a welcome addition to treatment.”
Over the last few months, Ginger has seen a significant increase in members’ mental health needs, with 335% uptick in demand for therapy and psychiatry services in January 2021 in comparison to pre-pandemic averages.1 By delivering evidence-based behavioral health coaching, therapy, and psychiatry right from a smartphone, Ginger is the only end-to-end telemental health provider designed to meet the skyrocketing demand at a fraction of the cost of traditional care. Ginger’s nationwide network of board-certified psychiatrists support members with managing their mental health medications, ranging from traditional antidepressants to more complex mood-stabilizing medications. When needed, members can work with a psychiatrist one-on-one, wherever they are, to understand current medications, order labs, change regimens or start new prescriptions.
“Capsule is thrilled to partner with Ginger to continue building on our support for psychiatrists and to enable individuals to get the mental health treatment they need as easily and quickly as possible,” said Eric Kinariwala, Founder and CEO, Capsule. “Bringing together Capsule’s technology platform and APIs with Ginger’s on-demand mental health system will lead to better health outcomes and lower costs for patients and employers alike.”
Same-day medication delivery is now available at no additional cost to all Ginger members residing in metro areas of New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, and Austin; and will expand to additional regions in the coming weeks and months. To learn more about how you can offer Ginger to your employees, please reach out to Ginger at theteam@ginger.com.
About Ginger
At Ginger, we believe that everyone deserves access to incredible mental healthcare. Our on-demand system brings together behavioral health coaches, therapists, and psychiatrists, who work as a team to deliver personalized care, right through your smartphone. The Ginger app provides members with access to the support they need within seconds, 24/7, 365 days a year. Millions of people have access to Ginger through leading employers, health plans and partners. Ginger is recognized by The World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer, by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies in Healthcare and by the UCSF Digital Health Awards as 2020’s leading Mental and Behavioral Health Company. Learn more about our vision to build a world where mental health is never an obstacle at ginger.com or find us on Twitter at @CareByGinger.
About Capsule
Capsule is rebuilding the pharmacy industry from the inside out with an emotionally resonant experience and technology that enables customized outcomes for doctors, hospitals, insurers, and manufacturers. Capsule has designed every aspect of the pharmacy experience to give consumers and partners the peace of mind of having their health looked after. Capsule is available in New York City, Austin, Chicago, Boston, and Minneapolis, with plans to continue expanding nationally this year.
1Pre-pandemic averages measured from August 2019-January 2020
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