Cerebral, a startup hoping to close a healthcare gap by providing online consultations and prescriptions for mental health issues, is betting users are open to ordering medicine for anxiety, depression and insomnia through the mail.
Co-Founder and CEO Kyle Robertson told Cheddar the company connects users with a doctor via web video who is authorized to write a prescription. Later, the patient will be matched with a care manager for ongoing consultations. Cerebral, which launched last week, sends medicine to users in “discreet,” branded packaging, he said.
The company hopes to make treatments more widely available to individuals for $92 per month, which pays for a video consultation with a physician, medication via mail, and monthly check-ins with a care manager.
Those care managers act as facilitators for medication management, Robertson said. “They help flag if medication or dosage adjustments are needed and work very closely with that prescribing provider.”
Care managers provide “psycho-social support,” he said. They call users monthly and help provide services outside of medication to supplement treatment, such as meditation, mindfulness and exercise, he said. “It’s comprehensive treatment.”
Robertson co-founded the company with Ho Anh, who used to be a doctor for Hims, the startup creating products for men’s sexual health, hair loss and skin care.
The company takes liability seriously, says Robertson, as “we are treating clients’ mental health and that’s an incredibly important thing,” but “in terms of liability there is a prescriber-client relationship, so, ultimately, that is what it comes down to.”
He said the company does not provide medications like Benzodiazepines or stimulants that may be addictive and instead focuses on “non addictive” medications like beta-blockers, SSRIs and SNRIs.
“The model we built is really catered toward making sure we are being really responsible for the clients we are taking on,” he said.
