CVS, Walmart to Reject Some Prescriptions From 2 Telehealth Startups

May 26, 2022 - CVS Health and Walmart will no longer fill prescriptions for controlled substances provided by telemental health companies Cerebral and Done. Health.

CVS Health confirmed the decision in an emailed statement to mHealthIntelligence.

"As a result of our being unable to resolve concerns we have with Cerebral and Done Health, effective May 26, 2022, CVS Pharmacy will no longer accept prescriptions for controlled substances issued through these companies," said Mike DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications at CVS Health, in the email.

CVS reviewed certain telehealth companies that prescribe controlled substance medications before arriving at this decision.

"We are committed to making mental health services as accessible and convenient as possible. At the same time, it is important that medications are prescribed appropriately," DeAngelis said.

Walmart confirmed its move to Reuters, adding that it had completed an audit and compliance process before making the decision.

Cerebral provides treatment for various mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, opioid use disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while Done. only treats ADHD. As a result, both virtual care companies often file prescriptions for controlled substances, including Adderall.

The move comes a few weeks after Cerebral received a grand jury subpoena related to a federal investigation into its potential violations of the Controlled Substances Act, according to Bloomberg.

Former Cerebral Vice President Matthew Truebe claimed in a lawsuit filed in April that Cerebral employed "unlawful business practices." First reported by Bloomberg Law, the suit also alleged that the company "planned to increase customer retention" by prescribing stimulants to all of its ADHD patients. Following the lawsuit, several Cerebral executives, including co-founder and CEO Kyle Robertson, stepped down from their roles.

A Wall Street Journal article also reported that workers at Cerebral and Done. felt pressure to prescribe ADHD drugs.

Cerebral announced earlier this month that it would stop prescribing most controlled substances but will continue prescribing controlled substances for opioid use disorders, according to a statement provided to mHealthIntelligence via email. 

"Cerebral officially ceased new prescriptions for controlled substances as of May 20 and had put into place plans to gradually transition patients currently taking controlled substances to establish a treatment plan to either transition their controlled substance to a non-controlled substance medication, titrate off of their controlled substance, or transfer their care to a local provider by October 15," the statement in response to CVS's decision reads.

Cerebral further provided an emailed statement in response to Walmart's decision.

"...we were disappointed to learn on Wednesday evening, through a report in the Wall Street Journal, of Walmart’s intention to no longer fill controlled substance prescriptions issued by Cerebral’s clinicians," the statement reads. "We have reached out to Walmart to better understand how quickly this would affect our patients or whether they would have adequate time to find alternate pharmacies that can fill their prescriptions."

Done. also said it would continue prescribing controlled drugs to manage psychiatric disorders and is helping patients transition to new pharmacies.

"While we are disappointed with the decision of some pharmacies to prevent access to prescriptions generated on our platform, we will continue to provide them with clarity on Done. and our commitment to high-quality psychiatric chronic care management," a statement emailed to mHealthIntelligence said. "Done. is currently assisting affected patients and providers with the transition of their pharmacy choice and we expect this situation will be quickly resolved, if provided the opportunity, so patients can access the medications they have been prescribed using evidence-based medicine."

Editor's note: This article was updated on May 26 at 5:58 pm ET to include statements from Cerebral.