The GLP-1 prescription startup 9amHealth is partnering with grocery delivery service Instacart to incorporate stipends for healthy foods into its treatment plans for diabetes, weight loss and heart health.
9amHealth patients have access to specialists like dietitians who can curate meal plans specific to their health conditions. Those patients can then use their Instacart funds, provided by their employers or health plans, to buy the prescribed foods, the companies said Thursday.
The partnership, which officially kicked off in February, is the latest example of Instacart working with companies prescribing weight loss shots, with the goal of more comprehensively tackling obesity as demand for the medications grows.
Earlier this year, Instacart notched a partnership with WeightWatchers, another GLP-1 prescriber, to make the company’s recipes shoppable through an app. It already has relationships with food-as-medicine companies like Foodsmart, Good Measures, Season Health and NourishedRx that have programs that can be used to support patients on GLP-1 drugs, a company spokesperson said.
Sarah MastroroccoSarah Mastrorocco, Instacart’s vice president and general manager of health, said that GLP-1s are a “revolutionary drug,” but “that doesn’t change the need for long-term dietary and behavioral habits.”
Instacart can play a role in making healthy choices easier, she said.
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