Cerebral to Stop Prescribing Most Controlled Substances

Cerebral Inc, an online mental health company, said it would stop prescribing almost all controlled substances and expand its treatment practice reviews after the scrutiny over how it provided stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 

In an email, Kyle Robertson, Cerebral’s co-founder and chief executive said Cerebral will begin prescribing controlled substances in 2020, bridging the gap created by the inability to treat patients who needed the medication to get in-person treatment. He mentioned that the company is halting most of the prescriptions due to the accessibility of mental health care, and the ability for patients to return to an in-person or hybrid care model for this treatment. 

The move represents another reduction in controlled substances by Cerebral, which reached $4.8 billion last fall, less than two years after its launch in January 2020. Earlier this month, the company suspended prescribing stimulants to new patients seeking treatment for ADHD and announced that existing ADHD patients would continue to take the medication.

The new move means that prescriptions for stimulants as well as other controlled substances, such as benzodiazepines and some sleep aids used to treat anxiety, will be completely abolished.

According to the email, Cerebral plans to treat opioid disorders with controlled substances, including Suboxone. This is because the need for such treatment is too great to stop. Cerebral recently launched a pilot of an online treatment protocol for opium addiction.