Maven Clinic closes gaps in care for women, families
Maven Clinic, a virtual clinic whose programs span fertility and family building, maternity and newborn care, parenting and pediatrics, and menopause and midlife, has been focusing on closing gaps in care for women and families for a decade.
Drug Store News sat down with Isha Vij, senior vice president of growth, to learn more about how the company operates and what services and resources it provides to women to achieve better outcomes for both members and the employers.
DSN: What is the history of Maven Clinic and the company’s mission?
Isha Vij: The company was founded in 2014 by Kate Ryder, CEO, who experienced some of her own challenges as she was starting to build and grow her family and realized that there was very little support for individuals as they navigated that journey. We can all agree, it takes a village to raise a child, yet these experiences can be lonely - especially if you have any challenges conceiving or trying to navigate adoption or surrogacy or various paths to parenthood. Her mission was to create a platform that gave people access to the care they needed at the time they needed it most, initially as they were going through maternity journeys. Since then, we have grown exponentially as a company, but our core commitment to making every person feel supported has not changed, and never will.
DSN: What services are offered and how do you work with employers and partners to deliver these services?
IV: We partner with leading employers and health plans globally to provide quality care to their employees and their families. We offer four different programs across various life journeys. Fertility and family building is a program that provides resources, guidance and support to individuals navigating various pathways to parenthood. We have a maternity and newborn care program, which supports folks during their pregnancy as well as the first full year of postpartum. New parents have access to resources like lactation consultants, OBGYNS and career coaches as they think about getting back to work. Our parenting and pediatrics program gives you 24/7 resources as you’re raising toddlers through young adults. And finally we have a menopause and midlife health program, which helps people navigate healthy aging and gives women support and guidance as they manage some of their symptoms related to menopause.
DSN: Who does Maven serve?
IV: Maven supports women and families navigating some of the most joyful and vulnerable life stages. From the dads starting their fertility journey, to the postpartum mom returning to work, to the woman navigating menopause, Maven provides compassionate care tailored to each member. We work with over 2,000 employers, including nearly half of the Fortune 15 and many retailers, to deliver more equitable, higher quality care to their employees.
DSN: How do you improve health outcomes for women and their families?
IV: Since 2014, Maven has pioneered digital health for women and families and has led the category in innovation. Maven has the most comprehensive platform in the space today, and we’ve built both breadth and depth into our platform over the past decade. We are the only platform to offer an end-to-end solution, from preconception, family building, fertility, and maternity to parenting, pediatrics and menopause. We provide a rare combination of care navigation, virtual care, and a digital platform with personalized content and communities and flexible reimbursement and financial tools that drive industry-leading engagement. It’s this engagement that allows us to drive both clinical and business outcomes. Through Maven, employers and health plans see a 2:1 clinical ROI, and our care model has proven that it reduces C-section rates by 8-20% and NICU admissions by 20-28%. On the fertility front, 30% of fertility members who are struggling to conceive are able to become pregnant without the need for assisted reproductive technology.
DSN: What other benefits does Maven provide?
IV: From an employer perspective, the impact is significant, particularly in terms of cost savings. We see approximately up to a 30% reduction in unnecessary emergency room visits and up to a 20% reduction in C-section rates, with even greater improvements among Black women. This is critical because Black mothers are disproportionately affected by higher C-section rates and are often overlooked by the current healthcare system. Maven is proud to connect individuals with culturally competent care, helping to improve outcomes and address these disparities.
On the menopause front, the feedback from members is incredibly encouraging. Within just three months of engaging with Maven’s providers, resources and content, 93% of members in our menopause and midlife programs report a reduction in the severity of at least one menopause symptom. They also feel better equipped to recognize key symptoms, have productive conversations in the workplace about their experiences, and navigate this life transition.
I just read a testimonial yesterday from a highly ambitious and successful member who has access to our Menopause program through her employer. She stated that she was considering quitting a 25-year career because of how bad her menopause symptoms were getting and the lack of support she was receiving from her OB-GYN. She said the providers on Maven and the symptom managed techniques she learned on the platform “saved her career.”
DSN: How does Maven’s telehealth platform work with in-person providers?
IV: If in-person care is what you’re looking for, Maven can provide a curated list of referrals tailored to your needs. This goes beyond just geography. Our care matching process considers your lifestyle, religion, racial background, beliefs and other aspects of your identity. The Maven team works to connect you with providers who are trained to provide whole-person, culturally humble care that is personalized.
DSN: Will you expand into additional areas of care?
IV: We have fertility, family building, maternity and newborn care, parenting and menopause and midlife health. Our focus now is making sure we are going even deeper in each one of these areas and continuing to provide highly personalized care. We will continue to let our members, our employers and our health plan partners guide us on where folks continue to see gaps in their care and that will be our roadmap in terms of where Maven goes next. The past few years have been transformative for us and we believe we are only getting started on our journey as a company.