NourishedRx and ProHealth Connect nutrition platform to help 17 million food insecure people in 2024

20 Dec 2023 --- The new platform by digital health and nutrition company NourishedRx and ProHealth Connect — a fintech platform that allows independents to accept and process US nutrition assistance benefits cards — aims to improve access to nutritious food for millions of US citizens vulnerable to food insecurity in the coming year.

The collaboration makes using over-the-counter (OTC) medication and Medicare flex (flex) cards possible for personalized home-delivered meals, addressing issues such as food deserts, mobility constraints and digital literacy barriers.

“Individuals living in food deserts often don’t have convenient access to purchase nutritious food options with the OTC or flex card issued by their health plan,” Lauren Driscoll, CEO of NourishedRx, tells Nutrition Insight.

“Through the partnership with ProHealth Connect, millions of individuals now have access to healthy home-delivered food from NourishedRx.”

The ProHealth Connect API will give millions of US citizens access to healthy home-delivered food from NourishedRx.Driscoll states that all needing additional support can now use their OTC or flex card to purchase “healthy and tailored home-delivered food through NourishedRx, where they can also receive access to education resources, nutrition coaching and connection to community resources.”

“Those with mobility or transportation issues often have challenges getting to the store to use their card, while people lacking digital literacy or broadband internet often have challenges accessing or using their benefits,” she explains. “Additionally, individuals with high levels of unmet social and clinical needs might not understand how to use their benefits or what foods might contribute most positively to their health.”

API integration
Driscoll explains that NourishedRx’s food recommendation engine is guided by registered dietitians who tailor food bundles to individuals’ dietary needs while integrating ProHealth Connect’s Application Programming Interface (API) to ensure smooth transaction processes.

Elaborating on how the API was integrated into the NourishedRx platform, she states: “Instead of manually looking up member card balances or processing orders, the API automates the sharing of this information between NourishedRx and ProHealth Connect platforms to support data quality and efficient scale.”

NourishedRx works with a diverse set of food suppliers across the US, enabling home-delivered healthy food across a variety of food formats, taste profiles and health focuses.

“When we learn about an individual’s health status, cuisine preference and dietary restrictions, our platform assesses that information and generates food bundle recommendations. A NourishedRx registered dietitian approves the final food order placed for the individual. This process leads to efficient scaling of the services.”

“Beyond meal delivery, the initiative offers comprehensive support, aiming to engage individuals in sustainable health practices and empower them to take control of their diet and well-being,” Driscoll explains. 

NourishedRx has partnered with healthcare organizations to offer a similar service since 2019.Addressing food insecurity
According to the company, the key aim of the new platform is to present vulnerable populations at risk of food insecurity with an additional resource on which to use their health plan benefits.

“Quality, culturally concordant nutrition has massive untapped potential for improving health and health equity, reinvigorating lives and lifting up communities,” says Driscoll. “The NourishedRx approach upends traditional approaches by using nutritious and delicious food as the doorway for whole health engagement and lasting behavior change.

NourishedRx has been partnering with healthcare organizations since 2019. Driscoll shares success stories demonstrating the positive impact of these home deliveries on individuals’ health and well-being.

“NourishedRx has worked with healthcare organizations to improve outcomes for vulnerable populations diagnosed with congestive heart failure, type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease and for vulnerable birthing individuals. Our programs have demonstrated a reduction in medical costs, blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C and NICU admissions, increasing quality-adjusted life years.”

“Additionally, our programs have improved self-reported confidence in self-care, physical and mental quality of life, and food and nutrition security,” Driscoll concludes. “We strive to engage individuals in their health through nutritious and delicious food and use that engagement to help educate, motivate and empower individuals to take ownership of their diet and their health for the long-term.”

By Milana Nikolova