Louisiana-based Ochsner Health System is teaming up with an unusual partner to screen for chronic conditions. The academic medical group will work with digital health startup Hims & Hers, a mail order-health company that allows users to order everything from hair-loss drugs to birth control pills.
Through a screening questionnaire on the Hims or Hers sites, patients share health metrics, such as their blood pressure reading from the last six months. If the screening shows evidence of high blood pressure or diabetes, those patients will have the option to connect to a provider from Ochsner through its digital medicine programs.
“Hims shares our desire to make high-quality healthcare convenient and accessible. The opportunity to collaborate with Hims allows us to offer a platform of effective healthcare delivery for the benefit of patients, while extending the superior clinical benefits of our Digital Medicine programs to help more patients reach their health goals,” Dr. Richard Milani, chief clinical transformation officer for Ochsner Health System, said in an emailed statement.
Ochsner currently has two digital medicine programs as part of its innovationOchsner brand. They currently focus on hypertension and diabetes, giving patients access to remote monitoring tools, such as a blood pressure cuff, which automatically input data into their health record. The patient’s care teams are also able to give feedback and adjust medications accordingly, based on this data.
Hims & Hers don’t offer diabetes or blood pressure treatments on their sites, but the digital health companies have grown quickly. Since the two sites were founded in 2016, they have grown to offer treatment for more than 12 conditions and sell more than 50 products on their sites, such as vitamins, teas and supplements.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Hims’ valuation has also ballooned during that time. The startup is valued above $1 billion, since it raised a $100 million round in January with investors including Redpoint Ventures, 8VC and Founders Fund.
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