Hemingway Sessions - A decade in behavioral health start-ups: hope, hype, and lessons learned, with Tom Insel
Of all areas in healthcare, behavioral health may be the most in need of innovation. Yet, after >$13B invested, hundreds of companies launched, scores of innovative products built, there is little evidence of public health impact.
In this session, Dr. Tom Insel will draw on his decade of experience in the behavioral health start-up world (launching Verily, Mindstrong, Humanest, Vanna Health, NeuraWell, and Benchmark Health) to address this question: In a healthcare space where payors, providers, and patients all agree that we need fundamental change, why do 90% of start-ups fail? Why has so much investment and entrepreneurial activity had so little impact? Why is this so bloody difficult? He remains hopeful that innovation can (and must) change how we diagnose and treat mental illness, but he has also become convinced that innovative products are being killed by a marketplace with perverse incentives.
What you will learn:
How to understand the BH incentives for patients, providers, and payors.
The critical importance of measuring outcomes (both clinical and non-clinical) for defining quality and creating a culture of accountability.
The value of thinking beyond traditional clinical care (and payors) in an era of patient empowerment.
How AI and interventional psychiatry may change the landscape of BH.
About Tom Insel
Tom lnsel, M.D., a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, has been a national leader in mental health research, policy, and technology. From 2002-2015, Dr. Insel served as Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). More recently, he led the Mental Health Team at Verily (2015-2017) and since 2017 has co-founded five mental health start-ups (Mindstrong Health, Humanest Care, NeuraWell Therapeutics, Vanna Health, Benchmark Health). He currently serves on the boards of Fountain House and the Peterson Health Technology Institute as well as being an advisor to several mental health start-ups. He is the author of Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health (Penguin Random House, 2022). Dr. Insel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous national and international awards including honorary degrees in the U.S. and Europe. More info at www.thomasinselmd.com.