SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cerebral Inc., a leading online mental health care service platform, implemented several proactive initiatives to continue providing the highest quality clinical care and patient safety. Cerebral treats a variety of conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD, PTSD, and serious mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and opioid use disorder through both behavioral and medication-based care.
The company’s executive leadership team reviewed its quality and safety processes, marketing strategies, and employee development and engagement programs, as a deliberate and visible demonstration of its commitment to clinical quality and safety.
Cerebral will pause the practice of prescribing controlled substances as a treatment for ADHD such as Adderall and Ritalin for new patients, effective Monday, May 9. Existing patients will continue receiving their clinically appropriate, prescribed medications, and the company will be adding additional tools for clinicians to further safeguard this practice. Cerebral will work to create a smooth transition for its care professionals and impacted patients.
“Clinical quality and safety are at the forefront of what we do, which is why we have decided to pause part of our ADHD service line,” said Kyle Robertson, CEO and founder of Cerebral. “Based on recent feedback from stakeholders, it is clear that this has become a distraction from our focus to democratize access to mental health care services, provide treatment for more patients and add service lines for new conditions.”
“It is regrettable that a helpful class of medication that is considered a first-line treatment option has become so stigmatized,” said Dr. David Mou, Chief Medical Officer and President at Cerebral. “We hope this will change as a population of people with clinical needs are no longer able to access care with us.”
In addition to the program changes to the ADHD service line, Cerebral proactively implemented the following initiatives:
- Cerebral adds more safeguards to its clinical safety protocols: Cerebral administered additional assessment capabilities such as urine drug screens and PHQ9 and GAD7 screeners to further equip clinicians with even more information on their patients. Cerebral has instituted more effective communication channels with clinicians and coordinators to ensure their feedback is acknowledged and addressed. The company is also developing new tools for its electronic medical records to increase efficiency in identifying and sending critical information to clinicians as well as new quantitative measurement tools for its systems to better track the potential positive impact of its clinical quality and safety.
- Cerebral prioritizes clinical care recruiting: The company is prioritizing the recruitment of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners to ensure it has a surplus of available expert clinicians in all clinical situations. Cerebral is also reviewing compensation practices for clinicians to ensure that all incentives align with a value-based care model.
- Cerebral adjusts marketing and advertising strategies for better alignment with its mission and vision. All paid social ads are now assessed by Cerebral’s new Clinical Review Committee, which includes members of Cerebral’s clinical and brand teams, and, where appropriate legal, to ensure its standard of high-quality clinical care and patient safety is reflected. Cerebral also brought in a new creative director to lead in-house creative development and to work closely with the company’s clinical teams to ensure that messaging in advertising aligns with the company’s values and mission. Cerebral will continue to review ad creatives and adword strategies to ensure they accurately showcase all of the company’s comprehensive care offerings.
- Cerebral bolsters its employee-centric culture. In early 2022, Cerebral hired a Head of People, who is leading multiple initiatives to drive exceptional employee experiences and build a supportive culture within its remote working model. Some of the first initiatives launched focused on establishing more transparent two-way communication (e.g., monthly Q&As with leadership), offering professional growth support (e.g. funds for career development programs, managerial training), promoting greater employee recognition (e.g. via peer-to-peer rewards platform), and encouraging employees to prioritize their own mental health (e.g. wellness stipends).
Cerebral will continue to regularly review, identify areas of improvement, and implement additional initiatives across its business. In addition, Cerebral’s recent Head of Compliance hire is in the process of establishing an independent internal audit practice for our clinical care processes.
About Cerebral
Cerebral’s mission is to improve access to high-quality mental health care for everyone who needs it. Unlike traditional mental health care, Cerebral is accessible, affordable, and free of stigma. With several full-service monthly subscription plans to choose from, members receive online access to licensed clinicians, behavioral counselors, talk therapists, and nutritionists—all from the comfort of home. Cerebral was founded and launched in January 2020 and is a leading online mental health care service platform. For more information, visit https://cerebral.com.
