Virtual opioid use disorder treatment company Bicycle Health inked a deal with Marvin, a startup that supports clinician mental health, in order to provide healthcare professionals with opioid treatment. 

Marvin patients will now be able to access Bicycle Health's telehealth-based treatments. The service offers patients access to medical provider-driven medication management, group therapy from a behavioral health clinician, online support groups and on-demand access to a clinician. 

Currently the service is open to patients living in 24 states. Bicycle Health's online service for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) gives patients access to Suboxone. Patients start the treatment process by speaking with an enrollment coordinator. Next, patients and doctors meet through a phone and video call to discuss a treatment plan for the patient's opioid use disorder.

The service is able to offer eligible patients with a Suboxone treatment prescription refill through a weekly, biweekly or monthly virtual care visit with a Bicycle Health provider. 

WHY IT MATTERS

The Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the opioid crisis. In fact, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 93,331 individuals in the U.S. died from a drug overdose in 2020, a 30% increase from 2019. Opioid overdoses accounted for 69,710 of the 93,331 deaths.

"The immense pressure of COVID exacerbated a long-standing problem in healthcare. Many workers across the board struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues. We are excited to collaborate with Bicycle, weaving together our specialties, to play our role in reducing the suffering that torments too many of our beloved care givers," John Bracaglia, CEO of Marvin, said in a statement. 

THE LARGER TREND 

Founded in 2017,  Bicycle Health has been growing. The company recently scored $27 million in a Series A funding round led by Questa Capital. 

Bicycle Health isn't the only digital health company looking to help treat opioid use disorder. Cerebral, a digital mental health company valued at roughly $4.8 billion, announced a new program aimed at treating opioid use disorder.

The company works with licensed prescribers to build treatment plans, which may include using Suboxone, as well as virtual counseling sessions.

Just weeks before this announcement, a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation reported Cerebral staff had too many patients on their caseload and that ADHD prescriptions were pushed too aggressively at the expense of patient care.

Cerebral shot back saying that the service includes a number of modalities for treatment including coaching and therapy. 

"We also take the prescribing of controlled substances very seriously and have a number of safeguards in place to ensure patient safety and high-quality care is provided for all," a statement from the company reads. "We’d also like to note that controlled substances, specifically, for patients with ADHD comprise a single-digit percentage of all Cerebral patients."