Health IT, Patient Engagement

Talkspace planning expansion of remote therapy business into psychiatry

Talkspace's first chief medical officer Neil Leibowitz talked about the online therapy providers' ambitions to move into psychiatry by the end of the year.

mental health, face, human

Talkspace, a digital health company that is seeking to redefine how people access their therapy, has hired its first chief medical officer. Neil Leibowitz comes to the role from UnitedHealth Group, where he served as senior behavioral health medical director, community, and state, for New York.

The online therapy provider gives users access to therapists through its web and mobile apps. People can choose to talk on the phone, through video chats or send text messages back and forth —a departure from traditional in-person therapy sessions. Leibowitz acknowledged in a phone interview that many clinicians prefer the traditional approach to therapy. But the patient-centered approach of its model means people can talk to a therapist when they feel like it and if they exchange text messages they can review previous sessions.

What’s interesting about Leibowitz’s hire is that the company described him in an email as an online therapy skeptic. He disagrees with that characterization and said he simply didn’t fully understand it.

“There are a subset of people that want a traditional experience for mental health care. But what I have found is there are large swathes of the population that don’t want a traditional approach. Talkspace wants to offer a chance to have treatment on patients’ terms,” Leibowitz said. “It reflects the role of technology to support physicians, not replace them. I don’t see this as a threat but as a value, a benefit.”

In his new role, Leibowitz said he wants to help Talkspace realize its ambitions to expand into psychiatry by the end of the year. That would mean providing a way for patients to be assessed for certain medications. It’s hard to see how the expansion would happen without insurance companies stepping up. But the move stands to considerably expand Talkspace’s customer base.

So far only Magellan provides reimbursement for Talkspace services through its  Employee Assistance Program. Talkspace offers a convenient was hired previous employer as to into more players. Asked if anything could be read into the hire of Leibowitz and Deb Adler, a Senior VP of network and quality who hails from UnitedHealth’s health IT services business Optum to inform the Talkspace’s reimbursement strategy, Leibowitz declined to comment.

Looking ahead, Leibowitz added that at some point, he would also like Talkspace to collaborate with primary care practices. That ties in with a broader push both by some health tech companies as well as with members of Congress that believe it’s critical for certain psychiatric information such as a history of substance abuse be integrated into electronic health records so physicians can make more informed treatment decisions. If they knew they were treating an addict, or someone suffering from depression, for example, they might prescribe different medications.

Photo: ANDRZEJ WOJCICKI, Getty Images

 

Shares1
Shares1