Grocery delivery service Instacart is adding new digital tools for providers to its health division, dubbed Instacart Health, including Virtual Storefronts, Shoppable Recipes and Lists for Nutrition.

Through Virtual Storefronts, providers can create a curated shop for their patients, with food recommendations. Shoppable Recipes allows providers to recommend healthy recipes to patients, and Lists for Nutrition enables providers to build medically-tailored grocery lists. Patients can shop their provider's recommendations in the app and have the ingredients delivered through Instacart. 

Alongside Instacart's new provider offerings, users will continue to have access to Fresh Funds, a program that gives nonprofits, insurers and employers a way to provide money for nutritious foods, and Care Carts, a service that allows providers and caregivers to place grocery orders on a patient or family member's behalf.

Additionally, the California-based company announced four studies with academic institutions and health systems to evaluate the impact of food-as-medicine programs and nutrition security interventions on various groups, including food-insecure and low-income households.

"With Instacart Health, we have the unique opportunity to partner with providers to expand proven nutrition programs and more deeply integrate food as medicine into standard patient care," Sarah Mastrorocco, vice president and general manager of Instacart Health, said in a statement. "We're proud to offer these products to help providers expand access to nutritious food and make medically-tailored groceries and meal advice more actionable. Together, we can help patients and their families take an active role in their health through food."

THE LARGER TREND

Instacart grew during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers stayed home to avoid infection, but last year Instacart cut its valuation to about $24 billion from $39 billion.

Shortly after, the grocery delivery company filed a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to prepare for an IPO, but canceled its plans to go public in October, according to The New York Times. 

In September, it launched its health division, which included products focused on providing nutritious foods, forming strategic partnerships and advocating for food policy such as expanding online access to EBT SNAP and TANF assistance programs.

Joe Drygas and Randy Bush will offer more detail during the HIMSS23 session "The 5G Advantage: Advanced Connectivity for Life Sciences and Healthcare." It is scheduled for Friday, April 21 at 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. CT at the South Building, Level 1, room S105 C.