Equip Annual Report
2024
Letter from leadership
From day one, our mission at Equip has been to make effective eating disorder treatment accessible to everyone who needs it. And that idea of effective treatment—not just any treatment, but treatment that works—has shaped everything we do as a company. We truly believe that recovery is possible, and that with the right support, everyone struggling can reconnect with the things that matter in their life.
The data in this report covers the time period from 4/1/2023 to 3/31/2024.
Where we are today
An overview of Equip treatment over the past year.
Treatment outcomes
We treat humans, not diagnoses.
Eating disorders rarely occur in isolation: 83% of our patients have co-occurring psychiatric conditions, like anxiety, depression, and OCD.
Eating disorders also affect—and are affected by—physical health. Many patients come to us with complex medical histories or ongoing health issues, which need to be addressed alongside mental health concerns.
of our patients have co-occurring psychiatric conditions, like anxiety, depression, and OCD.
Our patients are experiencing early and sustained response to treatment
At 8 weeks
of patients requiring weight restoration have reached their target weight
reduction in eating disorder symptoms
reduction in depression or anxiety symptoms
We take a whole-person approach to treatment. This means that for patients dealing with anxiety, depression, or other co-occurring conditions, we individualize care to make sure we address those diagnoses as well as the eating disorder. We may do this concurrently or sequentially, depending on the individual circumstances.
Insurance coverage
It doesn’t matter how well our treatment works if people can’t access it as an in-network benefit through their insurance. To ensure that everyone struggling with an eating disorder has access to evidence-based care, we’re continually working to become in-network with more health plans.
Equip patients that access Equip through insurance
U.S. lives now covered by insurance for Equip treatment
health plans nationwide that include Equip as an in-network benefit
states with Medicaid access to Equip—and more on the way
Patient and provider experience
Our patients, their families, and referring providers are happy with Equip.
of adult patients (18+) recommend Equip
of parents recommend Equip
of referring providers recommend Equip
Treatment outcomes
What matters most is that our patients are getting better. We continually measure patient progress and stay on top of (and contribute to) the latest eating disorder research to provide the best possible care to everyone who walks through our virtual doors.
Patient progress
To ensure that every patient at Equip is moving toward recovery, we track progress both for individual patients and our total patient population through scientifically validated and customized surveys.
Key measures we track
Weight
Most patients submit weights twice a week. We even provide some of our patients with a numberless bluetooth scale that allows them to seamlessly send weights to us without seeing the number.
Eating disorder behaviors
Equip tracks changes in patients' eating disorder behaviors specific to the patient’s diagnosis on a weekly basis, providing relevant and timely insights into treatment progress.
Eating disorder symptoms
We use empirically validated surveys* specific to the patient’s diagnosis to assess eating disorder symptoms throughout treatment and compare our outcomes to those of other programs.
*The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Pica, ARFID and Rumination Disorder Interview ARFID questionnaire (PARDI‐AR‐Q)
Depression and anxiety
We track symptoms of depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ8) and symptoms of anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD7).
Quality of life
Monthly and quarterly measures show us how a patient’s life is improving through treatment.
Satisfaction with Equip
About once a month, we send additional surveys to assess how satisfied patients are with their treatment.
Caregiver confidence
We send monthly and quarterly surveys to patients’ loved ones to ensure that they have the tools and resources they need.
New research and education
Eating disorders are misunderstood. Since day one, Equip has been committed to evolving the field by conducting high-quality research about eating disorders and how to most effectively treat them, as well as sharing our learnings with our partners and colleagues.
In the past year, we’ve published four new scientific articles and presented 30 research presentations at 7 major conferences.
Educating the clinical and medical community
Equip Academy
We launched a free monthly program to educate the clinical and medical community on different aspects of eating disorders. Each Equip Academy session offers CE and CME credits.
Explore past and future Equip Academy presentations
Explore presentations
What providers are saying about Equip Academy
Excellent overall, concise yet thorough. Only wish it was longer!
Wonderful presentation. I am looking forward to others in the future.
Industry conferences
In the past year, we delivered 30 research presentations at 7 major conferences, including:
- California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (April 2023)
- Multi-service Eating Disorder Association (May 2023)
- International Conference on Eating Disorders (June 2023 & March 2024)
- Eating Disorders Research Society (September 2023)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (October 2023)
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (October 2023)
- Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (November 2023)
Insurance coverage
Over 110 million total lives covered (and counting)
Financial barriers shouldn’t be the reason someone can’t recover from an eating disorder. Our goal is to partner with as many insurance companies as possible to make sure that costs aren’t passed onto patients.
Since 2020
To make care accessible to the diverse range of people in need, we’re committed to partnering with both commercial and Medicaid health plans.
Today, we’re in network with over 25 health plans nationwide, including:
- Aetna
- Anthem / Elevance
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Carelon
- Centene (IL, TX)*
- Cigna
- Kaiser Permanente (CA, WA)
- Optum
- PacificSource*
- Partnership Health Plan*
- United Healthcare
- and many more!
New health plans added in the past year
*Medicaid plan
Patient and provider experience
Recovery may not be easy, but the right treatment should feel seamless and supportive, not clunky and confusing. Below are some of the updates we’ve made to enhance our patient and referring provider experience in the past year.
Because Equip is virtual, patients and their loved ones can connect with others on similar journeys, no matter where they live.
Some of our groups include:
- Diagnosis-specific support groups (binge eating disorder, ARFID, etc)
- DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) skills groups
- Groups for sharing recovery stories
- Teen patient processing groups
- Athlete education groups
- Caregiver nutrition groups
- Support groups for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and fat/large-bodied patients
- Caregiver support groups
- Spanish-speaking groups
Number of support groups that Equip now offers
Number of support groups we launched in the past year
Who we treat
This year, we expanded treatment to all ages, bringing Equip one step closer to making evidence-based care accessible to everyone who needs it.
Diagnoses and acuity
We treat all eating disorder diagnoses
We opened treatment to adults over the age of 24 midway through 2023. While our diagnostic mix continues to reflect a higher concentration of patients ages 6-24, we are excited to be expanding our diagnostic diversity as we grow our panel of older adults.
Among Equip patients:
had ARFID
had other
eating disorders*
had anorexia
nervosa
*Binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, or
other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED)
We treat the whole person
We treat co-occurring diagnoses as well as the eating disorder to set patients up for lasting recovery, an approach supported by research.
of our patients had at least one co-occurring psychiatric diagnosis
Generalized anxiety disorder
Major depressive disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
We also treated patients with other common co-occurring conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, substance use disorder, diabetes, learning disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, and thyroid disease.
We treat patients at every stage of recovery
Equip treatment is a safe and effective treatment option for medically stable patients of all acuity levels. We adjust the intensity and frequency of sessions to best meet different patients’ needs.
Among Equip patients:
were high acuity*
previously tried a
higher level of care
had no prior treatment
*Patients deemed “high acuity” are frequently engaging in ED behaviors, moderately to severely malnourished,
and are at elevated risk of medical/psychiatric instability.
Ages
We treat patients of all ages struggling with eating disorders
Overlooked populations
Despite pervasive stereotypes, eating disorders affect everybody, regardless of age, race, gender, body size, or socioeconomic status.
For us, it’s not enough to be accessible to patients of all identities. We need to also ensure that those patients receive culturally competent, effective care. As we continue to grow, we’re committed to monitoring and iterating on our program to achieve this.
Race and ethnicity*
of Equip patients were Hispanic/Latine
of Equip patients were Asian
of Equip patients were Black/African
of Equip patients identified as more than one race
or ethnicity
*Patients who selected multiple ethnicities are included in all categories they selected.
Gender
of Equip patients were nonbinary, transgender, or other
of Equip patients were cisgender boys or men
Household demographics
of Equip patients lived in a rural area
of Equip patients lived in a household with a household income of <$50k per year
Patient stories
Nari (she/her/hers) is a 15-year-old cisgender girl with anorexia nervosa
Nari’s natural temperament is determined, achievement-oriented, and smart—traits that made her an excellent student and elite athlete, but that also fueled her anorexia. Because sports are a core part of her identity, Nari’s parents were committed to helping her recover with as little interruption to her life as possible, and return to sports as soon as it was safe.
At Equip, Nari’s tailored treatment included a provider team with lived experience as athletes who helped her parents develop strategies for setting boundaries and best supporting Nari. Through mentorship and therapy, Nari learned to channel her temperament traits away from eating disorder behaviors and toward more positive pursuits. As treatment progressed, Nari was able to rejoin her team, and even celebrate wins at restaurants.
All names and identifying information have been changed in accordance with privacy laws.
Images are of models; not actual patients
Where we're going
Our mission at Equip is big, and so our vision for the future must be as well.
In order to make evidence-based eating disorder treatment available to everyone who needs it, we have to set ambitious goals and make a plan to achieve them.
Access has always been a North Star for us, and in the year ahead, we’re looking to take big strides toward making Equip treatment accessible to everyone struggling.
This means prioritizing intentional expansion of payor partnerships, scholarships, and Medicaid plans with an ultimate goal of serving all patients in the United States, no matter their insurance.
It also means monitoring the needs and treatment outcomes of overlooked populations, such as trans and nonbinary folks, those in large bodies, and people of color.
We made significant and substantive improvements to patient and provider experience last year, and are looking forward to building off of these enhancements to make that experience even better.
To do that, we will expand upon our Groups and Skills offerings for patients and their loved ones, as well as trainings and continuing education for both our own providers and all providers across the U.S. We will also lean into feedback from patients, families, and providers to shape our care.
Our future research efforts will aim to unpack historically understudied aspects of eating disorders and those affected.
In Equip Academy’s second year, we’ll touch on important topics that providers want to learn about. We’re also looking forward to co-programming initiatives with partners and leaders in the field.
Dive deeper into our outcomes research in the reports below
PDF download of the full report
Download
One-page overviews
All names and identifying information have been changed in accordance with privacy laws.
Images are of models; not actual patients
Learn more about Equip eating disorder treatment