Privia Medical Group Gulf Coast has launched Privia Wellness in partnership with Iron Health, the companies announced Monday. The program’s services will include medication management and nutrition support for women.
Houston, Texas-based Privia Medical Group Gulf Coast is a multi-specialty medical group. It is part of Privia Health, which helps independent providers deal with administrative burdens. Privia Health also works with employers and payers to improve care for their employees and members. New York City-based Iron Health is a virtual care platform that works with OB/GYN practices and health systems by supporting their patients with primary care, behavioral health support, weight management and pregnancy support. The company is backed by Redesign Health and March of Dimes.
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Privia Wellness allows the OB/GYNs that Privia works with to extend their services for patients. The program’s services are tailored to patients’ needs through four areas: weight management, hormone replacement therapy, sleep and brain health and nutraceuticals (which are food products that have health benefits). The weight management support is provided by Iron Health, while the other three areas are provided by Privia. Privia Wellness is currently only available to patients in Texas but will expand to other locations in the future.
“Knitting extended services to a woman’s OB/GYN practice provides evidence-based care under the supervision of their most trusted healthcare provider, and reduces the likelihood of care happening in a silo,” said Dr. Mark Cone, OB/GYN and market president of Privia Health, in a statement.
Iron Health’s weight loss support includes lifestyle and nutrition coaching and regular visits with a dietitian, who can help with grocery lists and meal plans. The company also offers access to weight loss medications, including GLP-1s, if considered appropriate. In addition, patients can get mental health support. All of these services are provided virtually, though Iron Health can collaborate with a Privia OB/GYN in case in-person support is needed.
The dietitian visits are particularly important, according to Stephanie Winans, CEO and co-founder of Iron Health.
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“There’s a lot of communication back and forth to kind of train behavior change over time,” Winans said in an interview. “I think the communication and relationship with a registered dietician is certainly core to this program as we think about making weight loss more sustainable long term.”
Privia will be paying Iron Health for its services through a fee-for-service model, according to Winans.
By working with Privia, Iron Health ultimately aims to drive “strong clinical outcomes for patients,” she added.
“It’s one thing to say, ‘What percentage of weight are you losing?’ It’s another thing to say, ‘Are you happy with it?’ We’re really looking at clinical outcomes on weight loss and making sure it’s sustainable long term, and then also looking at patient satisfaction to really improve both people’s weight and also their perception of comfort with their bodies,” she said.
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