• California-based telepsychiatry platform Cerebral has issued a memo instructing employees to stop writing new prescriptions for controlled medications that treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) including Adderall and Ritalin. New prescriptions will not be written from May 9, 2022, but existing patients will have access to their medications.

<ul><li>This announcement follows previous reports by Bloomberg that found the company’s prescription requirements too lenient. Additionally, just last week, former Vice President of Product and Engineering at Cerebral Matthew Truebe filed a lawsuit against the company alleging that the company put profits before patient safety by prescribing stimulants to 100% of its patients in order to retain clients. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has also launched an investigation into the company.</ul>

• The company has denied Truebe’s allegations. The firm also plans to introduce new safety and quality measures in the form of urine drug screenings, medical surveys, and questionnaires to its screening process; hiring psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners; forming a review committee for paid social media advertising initiatives; hiring a new creative director; and increasing communication between leadership and employees. The company is also looking to reassess compensation and provide professional growth opportunities and wellness stipends for employees. 

• The company went on to announce that its Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Mou would take on the role of president of the company in addition to his other responsibilities, a new head of compliance would be hired, and its chief financial officer would be leaving the company at the end of the month.