Quest Diagnostics and Instacart Collaborate to Reduce Food Insecurity Across the United States with Integrated Patient Health Coaching and Nutritious Grocery Delivery

Rhea-AI Summary

Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics company, collaborates with Instacart to provide grocery delivery services to individuals in coaching programs, addressing social determinants of health. The partnership aims to improve food access and healthy eating habits for underserved communities, offering nutrition education, coaching, and fresh food delivery. This initiative combines Instacart's reach and technology with Pack Health's expertise in patient engagement, providing a comprehensive nutrition solution for health plan members.

Insights

Market Research Analyst

The collaboration between Pack Health and Instacart represents a strategic move in the healthcare sector to address the social determinants of health (SDOH), particularly food insecurity. From a market perspective, this partnership aligns with the growing trend of integrating technology and personalized services to enhance healthcare delivery. The introduction of grocery delivery services to individuals in coaching programs may increase member engagement and retention for health plans, potentially translating into higher satisfaction rates and reduced healthcare costs associated with diet-related chronic conditions.

Moreover, the initiative could lead to a diversification of revenue streams for both companies, as they tap into the healthcare market by providing not just food delivery but also personalized health coaching. The success of the pilot program, which significantly reduced food insecurity among participants, indicates a potential demand for such integrated services. If scalable, this could lead to an expanded customer base for Instacart and enhanced value proposition for Pack Health's programs within Quest Diagnostics' portfolio.

Healthcare Policy Expert

The partnership between Pack Health and Instacart addresses key components of SDOH, which are increasingly recognized as crucial factors in patient outcomes. By focusing on food insecurity, the initiative could contribute to broader public health goals, such as reducing the prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases. This has implications for healthcare policy, as both public and private entities are looking for effective interventions to mitigate the impact of SDOH on population health.

Furthermore, the integration of Instacart's services with SNAP acceptance could align with government efforts to improve access to nutritious food for low-income households. This collaboration may set a precedent for how private companies can work alongside public assistance programs to enhance the efficacy of social services, potentially influencing future healthcare policies and funding allocations for SDOH initiatives.

Medical Research Analyst

The reported reduction in food insecurity and the potential for improved health outcomes through the Pack Health and Instacart partnership could be significant in the medical field. The ability to connect dietary interventions with measurable health improvements, such as a 39% reduction in hospitalizations for certain patient populations, underscores the importance of addressing SDOH in clinical practice.

As a medical research analyst, it is crucial to monitor the long-term health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of such programs. If the positive trends observed in the pilot program are sustained and replicated on a larger scale, this could influence healthcare providers to integrate similar models into their practices. This would also encourage further research into the impact of SDOH on chronic disease management and the potential for technology-enabled services to improve patient care.

Grocery Delivery Services Now Available via Instacart to Individuals Participating in the Coaching Programs of Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics Company, to Mitigate Social Determinants of Health Impacting Care

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. and SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) company specializing in patient engagement, and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced a collaboration aimed at improving both food access and healthy eating habits for underserved communities across the United States.

By integrating Instacart into Pack Health's programs, the companies will deliver a complementary suite of services aimed at increasing access to the food, nutrition education and coaching support individuals need to build healthier habits. The collaboration combines the strengths of both companies to provide health plans with a comprehensive nutrition offering for their members. With this addition, Pack Health's programs now offer not only education and behavioral coaching to inspire the adoption of healthier habits, but also directly address the pressing issue of access to nutritious food for those in underserved communities.

Through this relationship with Instacart, food insecure members enrolled in a Pack Health engagement program may receive same-day delivery of nutritious food designed to suit a member's condition from local grocers through their health plan. Pack Health will also provide weekly one-to-one coaching services, shopping lists and recipes, and dedicated support to help members mitigate the impacts of social determinants of health (SDOH). All members enrolled in a Pack Health program are matched with one of the company's in-house Health Advisors to guide them through condition-specific modules over a 12-week period. Members engage with Pack Health through a weekly phone call, two-way texts, and emails.

"We believe combining grocery delivery with nutrition coaching services can uniquely drive the adoption of healthy habits while teaching long term, sustainable behaviors to our members," said Robert Ginter, Vice President and General Manager of Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics company. "This relationship with Instacart will help food insecure individuals who are already managing their health through our coaching services change their lives for the better. We know that combining coaching services and access to fresh grocery delivery can be effective, and are excited by this opportunity to reach more people across the country who remain in need of this service."

"Nutrition and health are deeply intertwined, and we believe there is an enormous opportunity to integrate food into healthcare to improve outcomes," said Sarah Mastrorocco, Vice President and General Manager of Instacart Health. "Our mission is to give people access to nutritious food, and through Instacart Health, we're dedicated to ensuring families not only have access, but also the resources and support needed to lead healthier lives. Through our collaborations, we're offering user-friendly solutions that leverage Instacart's reach, scale, selection and technology to address social determinants of health and make nutrition guidance from experts like Pack Health actionable."

Instacart Health leverages the power of Instacart's platform, products and partnerships to expand access to nutritious food, inspire sustainable healthy habits, and scale food as medicine programs across the country. Using Instacart Health's suite of digital tools, health organizations can scale nutrition access and education programs that offer actionable medically tailored nutrition advice to members as well as the convenience of same-day delivery. For members who also are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Instacart today offers online SNAP acceptance from more than 170 retail banners and 14,000 stores across all 50 states and Washington D.C., meaning 96% of SNAP households can access delivery of fresh and nutritious foods from local grocers via Instacart.

Pack Health is a patient-engagement company specializing in comprehensively addressing chronic conditions and comorbidities influenced by mental health, lifestyle behaviors, access to care and SDOH. The company employs certified Health Advisors trained across over 20 chronic conditions who engage, motivate, monitor and support individuals through a digital engagement platform, providing personalized content. To support its programs, Pack Health will leverage Instacart Health Fresh Funds, category-specific grocery stipends, combined with tools that help members act on Pack Health Advisors' nutrition advice, including Lists for Nutrition, which can be tailored to a member's unique dietary preferences and needs, as well as Shoppable Recipes to support meal planning.

Food insecurity is categorized by the lack of access to affordable, nutritious food. In 2022, almost 13% of households across the United States were considered food insecure.¹ The inability to access enough food to support active, healthy lifestyles is often associated with increased risk for multiple diet-related health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, mental health disorders and other chronic diseases.

Pack Health first piloted a similar program to a group of over 500 participants in the Southeast, to favorable results, in 2023. In addition to improving the participating members' physical and mental health, the combination of fresh grocery delivery with coaching services reduced food insecurity by more than half, from 42% to 19%.² Research shows food and health are increasingly intertwined, with some chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes particularly impacted by a patient's nutrition. For certain patient populations, meal home delivery has shown a 39% reduction in hospitalizations.³

For more information, visit www.PackHealth.com/Food-Insecurity.

About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, Quest's diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors, and improve health care management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our nearly 50,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.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 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 85,000 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.

¹ Household Food Security in the United States in 2022 (usda.gov) 
² Pack Health Internal Data, 2023.
³ Brown University's Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research. "The Impact of Home-Delivered Meals on Overall Health and Associated Use of Healthcare Services." 2017.

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SOURCE Quest Diagnostics

FAQ

How is Pack Health collaborating with Instacart to improve food access and healthy eating habits?

Pack Health is collaborating with Instacart to provide grocery delivery services and nutrition coaching to individuals in coaching programs, focusing on addressing social determinants of health.

What services are included in Pack Health's programs through the collaboration with Instacart?

Pack Health's programs now offer education, behavioral coaching, fresh food delivery, shopping lists, recipes, and dedicated support to help members mitigate social determinants of health.

What benefits do members enrolled in Pack Health's engagement program receive through the collaboration with Instacart?

Members receive same-day delivery of nutritious food tailored to their condition, weekly coaching services, shopping lists, recipes, and support to address social determinants of health.

What are the goals of the collaboration between Pack Health and Instacart?

The collaboration aims to increase access to nutritious food, provide nutrition education, and inspire the adoption of healthier habits among underserved communities.

How does Instacart Health leverage its platform to expand access to nutritious food?

Instacart Health uses its platform, products, and partnerships to scale nutrition access and education programs, offering actionable medically tailored nutrition advice and same-day delivery.