Cerebral

Cerebral - online mental health diagnosis and prescription service

- telehealth - explain and link back to other wiki

- advertising - main FB/Insta (Meta) and TikTok - focus: ad language - ad controversy adhd subheading bc many ads focus on?

- funding - covid discussion subheading - Japan’s SoftBank

- medical feedback - in person better, multiple sessions - over prescribing

- legal -Controlled Substances Act

copy paste draft from google docs (apologize for format errors bc of that):

Cerebral is an online subscription-based mental health provider. Cerebral functions via telehealth to provide online therapy, diagnosis assistance, and medication prescription and access to over 200,000 clients. Cerebral lies within multiple digital mental health startups, include Done, Hims/Hers, and Betterhelp. Co-founded by Kyle Robertson (disinvolved) and Dr. Ho Anh in 2020, Cerebral is currently headquartered in San Francisco, California with a valuation of $4.8B. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/softbank-leads-mental-health-startup-cerebral-s-300m-round-propelling-valuation-to-4-8b

Services Cerebral cites itself as being able to assist subscribers struggling with: “anxiety, depression, insomnia, postpartum depression, menopausal depression, ADHD (in certain states), trauma and PTSD, bipolar disorder (in certain states), alcohol dependence (in certain states)” in addition to “relationship issues and divorce, stress management, anger management, LGBTQI+, grief and loss, traumatic life events, confidence and self-esteem, phobias, coping with illnesses” for patients 18 and older.

Cerebral’s prescribers are licensed to provide medication services in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., with a combination of therapy and prescribed medication services available in 30 states.

Subscription Plans Cerebral offers two subscription plans. Subscribers are required to choose a subscription plan, complete an evaluation, and attend weekly therapy sessions. Therapy Cerebral offers a therapy-only subscription plan for $259 monthly. Clients are able to choose a licensed therapist and participate in weekly video or phone appointments. Medication + Therapy Cerebral offers a medication and therapy subscription plan for $325 monthly. Clients are able to choose a licensed therapist, participate in weekly video or phone appointments, receive an evaluation and diagnosis from a medical prescriber, and participate in routine check-ins with the assigned medical prescriber. Medication costs are determined and billed separately from the subscription plan cost.

Website Cerebral’s online interface allows clients to schedule appointments, send and read messages, access self-care resources, and view their progress measurements. Cerebral currently operates under the url www.cerebral.com.

Cerebral also offers clients access to its corresponding app via Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Partners Funding Cerebral has received over $460 million in funding since its launch. Softbank, a Japanese Internet service provider conglomerate, is Cerebral’s main investor through the organization's Vision Fund, an investment fund focusing on non-traditional technologies.

Truepill Truepill is Cerebral’s pharmacy partner. TruePill provides pharmacy deliveries from businesses to customers utilizing a digital health for large scale of prescription provision. Truepill opporates primarily through telehealthcare with companies such as GoodRx, American Airlines, and Hims.

The company was founded in 2016 by Sid Viswanthan and Umar Afrid, and is headquartered in San Mateo, California. Truepill is accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

Innovation Truepill works alongside highscale pharmaceutical providers through use of technological healthcare advancements. Working mainly with telehealth clientele, Truepill receives all prescription orders digitally. At Truepill’s distribution centers, online prescription orders are electronically vetted, with information sent to machines that fill individual prescriptions from wholesale medication supplies, and labels the prescription bottle with the appropriate information. This automation allows Truepill to work more efficiently than a traditional retail pharmacy. TruePill also offers a web-based API for businesses to monitor TruePill’s services.

Legal December 2022 - The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigates Truepill unlawfully dispensing stimulant medications.. The DEA found "In numerous instances, Truepill dispensed controlled substances pursuant to prescriptions that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice”.

May 2022 - The Department of Justice launched an investigation pertaining to Truepill’s potential violations of the Controlled Substances Act through Cerebral and fellow telehealth company Done. Skip to DOJ Investigation

COVID-19 Telehealth providers like Cerebral experienced a large client surge amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As a whole, mental health telehealth communications increased 77% between 2020-2021. Cerebral specifically cites itself as “especially critical” during the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented access to in-person care.

Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act

The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2008 and aimed to narrow the guidelines within the Controlled Substances Act in which a patient can be perscribed controlled substances via telehealth.

In January 2020, The Department of Justice loosened remote prescribing restrictions of Schedule II through Schedule V controlled substances until the conclusion of the COVID-19 public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. As of January 2023, the act continues to be lifted.

Allowing the prescription of Schedule II controlled substances through telehealth allowed Cerebral to widely expand its market to diagnosing and treating patients with ADHD and/or anxiety-adjacent mental health difficulties. However, Cerebral halted Schedule II controlled substance perscription for new clients in May 2022, and for existing patients in October 2022 “in anticipation of the end of the public health emergency waiver to the Ryan Haight Act”.

Controversy Advertising Discussion pertaining to Cerebral has been widely influenced by the brand’s social media marketing techniques. Cerebral offers direct-to-consumer medical marketing, listing symptoms of mental health issues the company provides services for. Unlike drug manufacturers, telehealth connectors like Cerebral are not required to adhere to the advertising regulations set by the Food and Drug Administration.

Multiple social media sites, including TikTok and Meta, have removed Cerebral advirtisements from their platform. Examples of removed advertisements include an early 2022 Cerebral advertisement linking obesity to ADHD. In response to the removed advirtisements, Meta’s spokesperson announced “We don’t allow content that promotes misleading health claims or that attempt to generate negative self-perception in order to promote health-related products. We remove ads that break these rules”.

Advertisement spokesperson and Olympic gymnistic Simon Biles stepped down as Cerebral’s “chief impact officer” in December 2022 without comment. Biles has been removed from all Cerebral advertisements.