DispatchHealth and Instacart Partner to Tackle Food Insecurity through Healthcare

Rhea-AI Summary

DispatchHealth and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) are collaborating to address the issue of food insecurity in healthcare. Using Instacart Health technology, DispatchHealth's in-home providers can now prescribe food interventions as easily as traditional medications, marking a significant step forward in battling the substantial impact of food insecurity on healthcare costs. Recent data estimates food insecurity adds nearly $52 billion in annual expenditure. This collaboration aims to empower patients to address nutritional needs as part of their overall health and wellness.

Insights

Healthcare Industry Analyst

The partnership between DispatchHealth and Instacart represents a strategic intersection of healthcare and technology, aiming to address a critical social determinant of health: nutrition. By integrating Instacart Health technology into DispatchHealth's service model, the initiative promises to streamline the process of nutritional intervention, potentially reducing the long-term healthcare costs associated with food insecurity.

From an industry perspective, this collaboration could serve as a model for how healthcare providers can leverage technology to tackle broader social issues that impact patient health outcomes. It's important to note that food insecurity not only affects individual health but also contributes significantly to increased healthcare spending. By potentially mitigating these costs, the partnership could have a positive effect on the healthcare system's financial sustainability.

Furthermore, the use of technology to 'prescribe' food could open up new revenue streams for Instacart, while simultaneously providing DispatchHealth with a competitive edge in the home healthcare market. This initiative could also drive customer loyalty and improve patient satisfaction by addressing a critical aspect of their health that is often overlooked in traditional healthcare settings.

Nutrition Expert

Integrating nutritional prescriptions into home healthcare is a significant innovation that acknowledges the role of diet in managing and preventing chronic diseases. Adequate nutrition is a cornerstone of good health and malnutrition can exacerbate health issues, delay recovery and increase the risk of hospital readmissions.

By providing in-home healthcare professionals with the tools to address nutritional needs, patients may experience better health outcomes. The approach could particularly benefit populations with limited mobility or chronic conditions that necessitate tailored dietary interventions. Moreover, personalized nutrition can lead to better management of conditions like diabetes, heart disease and obesity, which are prevalent and costly to the healthcare system.

This program also emphasizes the importance of addressing the social determinants of health, which include access to healthy food. By targeting these determinants, DispatchHealth and Instacart are not only contributing to individual patient health but also working towards a healthier population overall, which could have far-reaching implications for public health and healthcare cost containment.

Market Analyst

The partnership between DispatchHealth and Instacart is indicative of a growing trend where companies from different sectors collaborate to create value-added services. For Instacart, this move into the healthcare space via Instacart Health technology represents a diversification of its business model, which could appeal to investors looking for innovation and growth potential.

From a market perspective, this collaboration could signal a burgeoning market for healthcare-related delivery services, with Instacart positioning itself at the forefront. The ability to 'prescribe' food interventions and have them delivered directly to patients' homes could disrupt the traditional healthcare delivery model, potentially leading to shifts in consumer expectations and behaviors.

On the stock market, such innovative partnerships can influence investor sentiment by highlighting a company’s adaptability and forward-thinking approach. If successful, this initiative could set a precedent for future collaborations between healthcare providers and technology companies, leading to a re-evaluation of market strategies and competitive dynamics within the industry.

Companies join forces to empower DispatchHealth's in-home healthcare professionals with tools that help patients take action to address nutritional needs as part of their overall health and wellness.

DENVER, Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DispatchHealth and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, are teaming up to confront one of healthcare's most pressing challenges: ensuring patients have access to nutritious foods. Using Instacart Health technology, DispatchHealth's in-home providers can now prescribe food interventions as easily as they do traditional medications. This collaboration marks a significant step forward in the ongoing battle against the substantial impact of food insecurity on healthcare costs. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates food insecurity adds a staggering annual expenditure of nearly $52 billion.

"Nutrition access is fundamental to maintaining and improving health," said Sarah Mastrorocco of Instacart Health.

"Our patients' well-being is closely tied to their environment, and we witness firsthand how social determinants like nutritional accessibility affect their overall health. We are literally in the kitchen with our patients and not many provider groups can get to that level of granularity," said DispatchHealth Chief Medical Officer Dr. Phil Mitchell. "Our collaboration with Instacart empowers us to bridge these gaps and bring about tangible improvements in our patients' lives."

DispatchHealth is uniquely positioned to assess patients' complete health needs. Recognized as the nation's most comprehensive provider of in-home medical care, DispatchHealth offers a variety of medical treatments to patients of all ages—from managing everyday health hiccups and post-hospital recovery support, to providing complex care that would typically require a hospital stay.

Instacart Health leverages Instacart's platform, products, and partnerships to increase access to nutritious foods, inspire healthy choices, and scale food as medicine programs across the country. The program empowers DispatchHealth's medical professionals to allocate digital, category-specific food stipends to patients using Fresh Funds, offer patients medically tailored shopping lists through customized Virtual Storefronts, and send food directly to patients' doorsteps in as fast as an hour through Care Carts, which could help boost adherence rates.

This addresses a conspicuous gap in the healthcare sector—with the potential to generate substantial returns. According to a recent report from researchers at the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the integration of medically tailored meals into the healthcare system—specifically within Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance for individuals with diet-related conditions and limited capacity for daily activities—could prevent approximately 1.6 million hospitalizations. Moreover, according to the study, integrating medically tailored meals could yield substantial financial benefits, with an estimated net savings of $13.6 billion in healthcare costs in the first year alone.

"Nutrition access is fundamental to maintaining and improving health, and leveraging Instacart's technology and reach, we're able to partner with at-home care providers like DispatchHealth to ensure their patients can get the essentials they need delivered from the local retailers they trust," said Sarah Mastrorocco, vice president and general manager of Instacart Health. "Our tools also help patients engage with DispatchHealth's medically tailored nutrition education and inspiration, allowing them to take immediate action on their provider's expert advice."

Instacart accepts diverse payment options on its platform—including FSA and HSA cards, eligible Medicare Advantage health payment cards like OTC Network, and SNAP benefits—further increasing patient access to essentials and making online grocery more accessible, affordable, and convenient.

By acknowledging the intricate interplay between social determinants and well-being, this collaboration helps build a healthier future for patients—one that's centered on compassionate, holistic care that redefines successful patient outcomes.

About DispatchHealth: Bringing the power of the hospital to the comfort of home™

DispatchHealth provides comprehensive and trusted medical care in the comfort of home to people with serious health concerns—with services that include same-day, urgent medical care; hospital alternative care; and recovery care. Our emergency medicine and hospitalist medicine trained care teams are equipped with all the tools necessary—including imaging and IV infusions—to treat common to complex injuries and illnesses in the home. DispatchHealth is partnered with most major insurance companies and works closely with primary care and specialty care providers, EMS, health systems, senior living facilities, and employers to deliver in-home care that reduces unnecessary emergency room visits, hospital stays and readmissions. Since the company's inception in 2013, our expert medical teams have treated more than one million people in their homes across more than 30 states in the country—resulting in 58% emergency room avoidance, 8.5% 30-day hospital readmission, 98% patient satisfaction, and nearly $1.5 billion in medical cost savings. For more information, visit DispatchHealth.com.

About Instacart:

Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 80,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com.

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SOURCE DispatchHealth

FAQ

What companies are collaborating to address food insecurity in healthcare?

DispatchHealth and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART)

How are DispatchHealth's in-home providers empowered to address nutritional needs?

Using Instacart Health technology, they can now prescribe food interventions as easily as traditional medications.

What is the estimated annual expenditure added by food insecurity?

Nearly $52 billion.

What is the goal of the collaboration between DispatchHealth and Instacart?

To empower patients to address nutritional needs as part of their overall health and wellness.