Leanne Sherred, a pediatric speech-language pathologist, has long encountered challenges in implementing caregiver-led therapy in customary care settings.
Research suggests that caregiver-led speech therapy, which involves training patients’ caregivers in therapeutic techniques that develop skills for employ at home, can be very effective. However, as Sherred has noticed throughout her practice, therapists often have circumscribed access to caregivers and faces sedate educational and technological obstacles.
In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Sherred saw an opportunity to try a fresh, high-tech model of speech therapy care that would 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 circumscribed to one to two times a week without caregiver involvement.”
Expressable is covered by some insurance plans (including Medicaid), but also offers and accepts private rates HSA and FSA. Matches patients with speech therapists who may be able to meet their needs and fit their schedules. The selected therapist develops a treatment plan and then meets regularly with the patient and/or his caregiver during online sessions.
Some aspects of the plan are designed to be completed by the patient on their 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 both 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 tough speech cases, Magloff says, which often require intensive, multi-year treatment plans.
“With Expressable, parents and caregivers become busy 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 improve 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 forms of artificial intelligence.
“We are currently exploring or adapting many relevant AI employ cases to improve the customer experience,” he added. “They could aid catalog common speech errors, reduce administrative burdens on physicians and improve operational efficiency.”
