In a Nutshell
pros
- Geared towards men’s health & wellness
- Treatments for a wide array of ailments
- Includes mental health services
cons
- Not all services available in all states
- Responses for primary care can take up to 24h
hims at a Glance
How Can I Get Treatment: Online web app
Urgent Care Fee: N/A
Accepted Insurance: Determined by insurer
Hour of Operation: 24/7 access; response within 24 hours
Follow up Consultations: Yes
How Does hims Work?
- Your first step will be to select a service: primary care, hair, sex, skin, mental health, COVID-19, or supplements.
- Next, you’ll need to complete a short online questionnaire. In most cases, it’s just a few quick screening questions to make sure you’re eligible to speak to a care provider.
- After submitting the form, you’ll be matched with a licensed provider.
- Within 24 hours, they’ll review your information and contact you for a follow-up consultation, if necessary.
You can answer any questions asked of you using hims’ online messaging portal. If your care provider deems it necessary to prescribe medication, it will be delivered to a shipping address of your choice.
Alternatively, for primary care services, like treating cold & flu symptoms, allergies or infections, your provider may be able to send the prescription directly to a local pharmacy, so you can pick it up at your convenience (thus avoiding a nasty 48-hour wait while dealing with the dreaded “man flu”).
For mental health consultations, hims has partnered with licensed psychiatrists with whom you can speak via chat or video to determine if medication is a viable option. A number of FDA-approved drugs are available through the hims service. In addition, hims organizes a variety of free, online, anonymous support group discussions. Individual therapy is scheduled for launch shortly, and will enable users to connect with a therapist for ongoing treatment.
What Does hims Treat?
hims offers a wide array of telehealth treatments for men. Primary care services include treatment of cold & flu symptoms and illness, allergies, infections, skin problems like eczema, fungal infections, and headaches. Treatment for acid reflux and stomach illness are coming soon. Hims also provides medication refills for asthma and migraines.
Additional services include treatment for hair loss and skin conditions, as well as sexual difficulties like erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation and genital herpes.
As discussed above, it is also possible to be put in contact with a psychiatrist to see if medication is a viable option to treat ongoing psychological issues, while individual therapy is forthcoming.
Finally, hims also offers a number of daily health supplements, including collagen protein, Vitamin C, melatonin, biotin, and teas.
How Much Does hims Cost?
Primary care consultations cost $39 and are not covered by insurance. Hair, sex, skin, and mental health consultations, starting with the online questionnaire, are free. In both cases, medication is extra, and may or may not be covered by your insurance provider.
Be aware that most medications (outside of acute primary care services like cold & flu) and supplements are offered as a subscription service. Some customers have reported a lack of clarity in this regard, so be sure to carefully read your order and make sure you understand the terms and conditions.
While specific prices for hair, skin and sex prescriptions are not given, the hims blog mentions, for example, that sildenafil costs $24 per month for four pills, while the proprietary Stendra pill costs $175 per month and includes 5 pills.
Psychiatric consultations cost $59 for your first evaluation, and then as low as $49 per month for medication and check-ins.
Does hims Take Insurance?
Hims does accept health insurance, but coverage depends on your insurer and the medication being prescribed.
Consultations, be they primary care or psychiatric, however, are not covered.
What Do People Say About hims?
"I have a lot of physical pain and my job has become extremely stressful, these things have found their way into the bedroom. My girlfriend had taken it personally, but I am still very much attracted to her. I tried out hims out of desperation and it has really helped!”
- Rod, customer.
“The product supplied worked perfectly. All communications with HIMS at every level was perfect. The whole experience has been positive, product cost was appropriate, the manner in which it was packaged was very convenient and product was delivered very timely. I would recommend HIMS to my family and friends should they have a need.”
- Stevens, customer.
“Awesome service for men to address unmet needs. Uncomplicated solutions for issues that were challenging in the past. Shipping time and tracking of those shipments is my only complaint.”
- Jerry, customer.
hims FAQs
Does hims prescribe medicine?
Yes, hims does prescribe medicine following consultation with a prescribing practitioner. You will start by filing out a questionnaire, after which a care provider will contact you to take the next steps. If the practitioner believes medication is a viable option for what ails you, you can set up an ongoing prescription through the website, to be delivered to your door.
Can hims give me a doctor's note?
Doctor’s notes are not one of the services listed on the hims website.
Do I need a subscription for hims?
Most of the medication and supplements offered by hims are provided on a subscription basis. Acute primary care problems (like cold & flu symptoms) are the exception. All hair, skin, sex and mental health medications are subscription based from the get-go.
What hours does hims have appointments available?
Appointment hours of availability are not listed on the website. However, upon filling out the initial questionnaire, you will be contacted by a care provider within 24 hours. If necessary, you may then arrange for a virtual appointment.
Bottom Line
Hims offers a valuable telehealth service for men. Not only can you use the website to avoid having to go to the doctor’s office for treatment of acute illnesses (like cold & flu symptoms), but you can also obtain prescriptions for common male health problems, like ED, PE, male-pattern baldness, and more. The fact that psychiatric services are offered as well is a big plus. Be aware that nearly all drugs and supplements are sold as an automatically renewing monthly subscription. Reviews are mostly positive, and the prices are reasonable, especially compared to competitors.
