Leanne Sherred, a pediatric speech-language pathologist, has long encountered challenges in implementing caregiver-led therapy in traditional care settings.
Research suggests that caregiver-led speech therapy, which involves training patients’ caregivers in therapeutic techniques that develop skills for use at home, will be very effective. However, as Sherred has noticed throughout her practice, therapists often have limited access to caregivers and faces serious educational and technological obstacles .
In 2020, at the starting of the pandemic, Sherred saw an opportunity to try a latest, high-tech model of speech therapy care that may put caregivers “at the center” (in her words). She teamed up with Nick Barbara (Sherred’s spouse), Spencer Magloff and Ryan Hinojosa to found Expressiblea platform offering individual virtual sessions with speech therapists.
“In addition to synchronous care, Expressable is a platform that includes multimedia in-home programming, interactive weekly hands-on classes, text message support for therapists, and more,” Magloff, Expressable’s chief marketing officer, told TechCrunch in an interview. “With Expressable, speech therapy is no longer limited to one to two times a week without caregiver involvement.”
Expressable is covered by some insurance policy (including Medicaid), but also offers and accepts private rates HSA and FSA. Matches patients with speech therapists who may give you the option to fulfill their needs and fit their schedules. The chosen therapist develops a treatment plan and then meets commonly with the patient and/or his caregiver in online sessions.
Some features of the plan are designed to be accomplished by the patient on their very own time via Exressable’s self-service platform. Patients and caregivers can track progress toward goals and milestones from week to week in their individualized plans.
Expressable, which serves each adult and pediatric patients with conditions ranging from language disorders to speech delay, aphasia, stuttering and autism spectrum disorder, set itself apart from many other telehealth startups early on by hiring its telehealth specialists. health as W2 employees, not contractors. While this increased Expressable’s medical licensing workload, it put it in a good position to handle difficult speech cases, Magloff says, which regularly require intensive, multi-year treatment plans.
“With Expressable, parents and caregivers become active members of the patient’s care team, extending care into the home and throughout the therapeutic progression for faster results,” Magloff said.
The digital and telehealth sector enjoyed liberal access to capital at the height of the pandemic, but has noticeably cooled down. However, Expressable is bucking this trend, closing a $26 million Series B round earlier this week led by HarbourVest Partners with participation from Digitalis Ventures, F-Prime Capital and Lerer Hippeau.
With $50 million in the bank, Expressable plans to enhance its care delivery model and core technology, expand its payer relationships and expand its network of therapists and operations team. Magloff says the company is also experimenting with various types of artificial intelligence.
“We are currently exploring or adapting many relevant AI use cases to improve the customer experience,” he added. “They could help catalog common speech errors, reduce administrative burdens on physicians and improve operational efficiency.”