Digital health company Welldoc partners with grocery delivery firm Instacart

Welldoc, a leading digital health company specializing in AI-driven cardiometabolic health, announced a collaboration with grocery technology company Instacart to transform healthcare delivery for health plans and members by bridging the gap between nutrition and health.

Through enhanced access to quality care and nutritious food, Welldoc aims to improve health outcomes and reduce overall costs of care for individuals managing cardiometabolic conditions.

Why does it matter?

More than one in eight Americans do not have reliable access to nutritious food, and over 100 million people in the United States suffer from cardiometabolic conditions related to poor diet.

Welldoc will bring its expertise in scaling and extending care through digital health and integrate with Instacart's leading grocery technology infrastructure and same-day delivery capabilities to meet the needs of a growing population. Improved diets alone could create more than $100 billion in savings for patients, taxpayers, providers and insurers, including employer-funded health plans and government-funded plans like Medicare and Medicaid.

How will it work?

Welldoc app users will be able to easily import grocery lists to Instacart and shop from a virtual storefront featuring nutritious foods that Welldoc recommends for specific conditions. Welldoc will also enable the use of Instacart Health Fresh Funds, an optional stipend program for category-specific grocery items to encourage healthy eating, that can be used in combination with other payment types, like SNAP EBT. Through Instacart, consumers have access to additional tools, including dietary tags, lists, recipes and customized meal plans.

On the record

"Access to nutritious food is paramount for individuals living with cardiometabolic conditions. Whether they are learning to tailor their diet around hypertension or taking a GLP-1 medication for weight management, personalized digital coaching and educational resources are required for sustainable behavior and diet changes," said Keith Reynolds, COO at Welldoc. "Through Welldoc's collaboration with Instacart, individuals will gain seamless access to tools to acquire groceries that support their health goals. By empowering those living with cardiometabolic conditions to leverage food as medicine, Welldoc is further delivering a holistic, total health approach to care."

"Using our technology, reach and vast selection of local grocers, Instacart is dedicated to ensuring everyone has access to the nutritious food they need to live a healthy life. By reaching more than 98% of U.S. households, including 93% in low-access areas known as food deserts, we connect families with trusted local retailers online, with the convenience of same-day delivery," added Sarah Mastrorocco, Vice President and General Manager of Instacart Health. "We are excited that Welldoc will leverage the Instacart platform to help make their medically tailored nutrition guidance more approachable and actionable for more people."

The context

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, with the convenience of same-day grocery delivery. For members who also are enrolled in SNAP, Instacart today offers online SNAP acceptance from more than 170 retail banners and 14,000 stores in 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.

Now, it would be nice to see a similar partnership between a grocery delivery company and a digital health solution provider launching in the MENA region and beyond. Sounds like a win-win for all parties, end-users included.