‘Food prescription’ program to deliver a healthful boost
For some Memorial Hermann patients, filling a prescription could soon look a lot like getting a delivery from Instacart or DoorDash.
The hospital system announced last week that its doctors will soon be able to write “foodscripts” for patients to get groceries, meal kits or prepared meals through the “food as medicine” provider Foodsmart. Each delivery will be tailored for patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Foodsmart, which debuted in 2010 and was known as Zipongo, has previously taken referrals from health care providers through its Foodscripts Network. But its new partnerships with Memorial Hermann, Intermountain Health in Utah and Advocate Health in North Carolina represent the first time it has been offered throughout health systems. All three health systems have invested in Foodsmart.
For Memorial Hermann, bringing the service to patients fits with the health system’s mission of creating healthier communities, said Feby Abraham, executive vice president and chief strategy and innovations officer for Memorial Herman. That includes focusing on social determinants of health, or the social and economic conditions that influence individual and community health.
“We want to provide great health care and build even healthier communities. The whole mission and strategic focus is toward ‘whole health,’ ” he said. “It’s going beyond the medical mandate of a health system and saying ‘what makes a person healthy?’ ”
Memorial Hermann is still working toward launching the program for its patients, but Abraham
said he expects it will be offered soon.
The program works by pairing a patient with a Foodsmart dietitian for a telehealth visit. The dietitian will talk to the patient about their dietary needs, as well as the foods they like and dislike, said Dr. Jason Langheier, Foodsmart’s founder and CEO.
“You don’t want to come out guns blazing and be like, ‘Oh, stop drinking soda and start eating fruits and vegetables,’ ” said Langheier, a neuroscientist who helped launch a pediatric obesity clinic at Boston Medical Center before founding Foodsmart. “It’s more of a gradual change.”
Patients can then choose to have deliveries that fit their level of skill in the kitchen. Someone who likes to cook can have some groceries delivered to them, while novice chefs can choose to receive meal kits or prepared meals.
The aim of the program is to get patients started on the path toward healthful eating by sending them foods that fit their dietary needs. For example, a patient with congestive health failure will need to stick to a low-sodium diet after being released from the hospital, Langheier said.
Ideally, those deliveries will give a patient the knowledge that he or she needs to continue to follow that diet over the long term, Langheier said.
“We’ll work with you to try to see if we can help you start to cook some basic meals that you can keep eating, that you’ll enjoy,” he said. “Because no health plan is going to pay for those prepared meals forever for you.”
The cost of the Foodsmart program will vary based on a patient’s insurance plan and the type of diet they need to follow.
Many insurance plans will cover the initial visit with a Foodsmart dietitian at no cost to the patient, Langheier said. After that, it may cost $60 per month for a patient who is overweight or obese, or a $300 to $600 investment over six months for a patient with chronic kidney disease, he said.
However, Langheier believes that additional costs could pay dividends down the road. He noted that Ozempic, a diabetes drug that is increasingly being used to treat obesity, costs about $900 to $1,300 per month. And sticking to a more healthful diet could help a patient avoid hospitalization, he said.
Data has shown that similar programs have been beneficial to patients. Last year, a study in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes found that food prescription programs helped adults and children eat more fruits and vegetables. Adults with high blood pressure saw it decrease, while adults who were overweight or obese saw a decrease in body-mass index.
The study also found that participants’ odds of being food insecure dropped by one-third.
Other food prescription programs have found success in Houston, though they have different approaches.
The Houston Food Bank offers food prescriptions to individuals who have a referral from a health care provider or commit to a community health program. Food can be picked up twice a month at one of the food bank’s five Food for Change Markets. A 2023 study published in BMC Research Notes found that the food bank’s program led to a modest decline in patients’ HbA1c levels, which are used to diagnose and measure diabetes.
Harris Health also partners with the food bank to offer “Food Farmacies” inside LBJ Hospital and two Houston-area health centers.
Memorial Hermann is hopeful its partnership with Foodsmart will lead to improved health outcomes for its patients, too, Abraham said.
“We’re truly thinking holistically about building a healthier community of Houstonians,” Abraham said. “We’re trying to invest (in) innovations we think will help us deliver that.”