Telehealth services boomed during 2020, as patients stuck at home required safe access to vital services, and are expected to continue post-pandemic. Before the public health emergence, only 14,000 Medicare beneficiaries received telehealth services per week. From the onset of COVID-19 in mid-March 2020 through to early July 2020, that number ballooned to over 10 million beneficiaries. Emergency measures have now ended, threatening access to telehealth services in rural areas of the United States. Luckily, a new Senate bill was introduced in June to permanently extend Medicare coverage for certain telehealth services beyond the pandemic, giving companies like Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE:MYCO) (OTC:MYCOF) (FRA:0NFA), Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC), Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS), WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX:WELL) (OTC:WLYYF), and CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV:DOC) (OTC:DOCRF) (Frankfurt:6PH) the opportunity to serve this rapidly growing market.
Filling a Pressing Unmet Need for Mental Health Services
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 450 million people are suffering from mental health disorders worldwide. Many do not receive care, like in the US, where the country has the highest prevalence of mental health disorders in the world at 27% of adults, but only 41% of the people who had a disorder in the last year received professional health care. Often a lack of convenience and high costs are deterrents to receiving the kind of essential care that people need. To fill the unmet needs of the mental telehealth market, Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE:MYCO) (OTC:MYCOF) (FRA:0NFA) acquired a 100% interest in MindLep’s Digital Telehealth Platform, which is focused on the psychedelics industry.
The MindLeap platform provides users with a cornucopia of services and resources, improving access to mental health services and providing a personalized approach to treatments with cutting-edge technology:
On September 30, Mydecine launched the MindLeap mobile app in iOS and Android stores bringing its services to the two largest mobile app stores in the world. The free-to-use platform increases access to mental health services and provides mental health analytics for improving goal-setting, mood, emotion, and habit tracking. Only when a user purchases a session on the app does MindLeap charge a 9% commission. This new ease-of-access and low-cost solution is Mydecine’s most significant step to date in changing mental telehealthcare.
Then in July, Mydecine announced the launch of Mindleap 2.0, which is designed to support users through several complementary features, including a media library that contains guided meditations, sound journeys and educational content about inner wellness and psychedelic medicines. Some of the guests featured on Mindleap include leading researchers John Cline, Ph.D. from Yale, David Erritzoe, MD, Ph.D. from Imperial College of London, as well as Gregory Wells, PhD, and Marcela Ot’alora G. from MAPS. Mindleap 2.0 also features a focus on the community that allows users to get to know and learn from mental health specialists via media and written posts.
The company is also making groundbreaking advances in psilocybin research, recently announcing the discovery of over 40 compounds with pharmacological potential in mushrooms. Mydecine screened over 25 mushroom species and analyzed 40 unique compounds. With a large majority of the compounds having never been reported before, Mydecine is forging a new path for research into psychedelic treatments for mental health.
The Telehealth Industry Expands Its Reach With Mental Health Services
Teladoc Health, Inc. (NYSE:TDOC), a leader in the telehealth industry, saw its revenue soar to $1.1 billion last year as telehealth visits continued to surge during lockdowns. In Q4 alone, the company reported 3 million virtual visits, a 139% increase from Q4 2019 and saw its US paid membership reach 51.8 million. The fourth quarter is also when Teladoc launched Mental Health Care, its telemedicine service that enables employees access to psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists.
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) popular consumer telehealth and wellness brand, hit revenues of $52 million in the first quarter of 2021, a 74% bump YoY from $30 million. The company’s January IPO logged the company a $1.6 billion valuation through a blank check deal. Hims & Hers Health also recently announced that Miley Cyrus is joining the company as a creative advisor to collaborate on a line of Hers brand prescription skincare products, starting with a series of advertising campaigns and social content.
WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX:WELL) (OTC:WLYYF) recently acquired Toronto-based MyHealth Partners Inc. for up to $266.3 million. The deal will make WELL Health the largest private-sector operator of outpatient medical clinics in Canada as it adds 48 clinics in the province of Ontario with this deal. This expands WELL Health’s exposure to the growing telehealth market as approximately 75% of MyHealth’s consultations are done through telehealth technology. Some of that technology is also provided by WELL Health’s group of companies.
For CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV:DOC) (OTC:DOCRF) (FRA: 6PH), telehealth is at the core of the company’s mission. Its acquisition of Aspiria Corp., which provides a comprehensive suite of mental health and wellness solutions for all employer and educational sectors, provides CloudMD with technology-driven mental health support solutions. It also gives them Aspiria’s customer base of 750 organizations, with 1 million employees, students, and their families who live in Canada and internationally.
Mydecine Strives to Change The State of Mental Telehealth
Mental health affects hundreds of millions of people in the US alone, and solutions are critical now more than ever. Mydecine and its peers are now providing top-notch services through telehealth technology like MindLeap to fill the unmet needs of the growing mental health market and changing the conversation around what is possible.
For more information about Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE:MYCO) (OTC:MYCOF) (FRA:0NFA), click here.
Featured Image: Pexels ©Tima Miroshnichenko
