Headlight Launches With $18 Million in Funding and the Addition of Amazon Pharmacy Executives to Support Their Mission of Simplifying Patients' Mental Health Journey

Headlight, formerly Sokya Health, will focus on expanding its provider-led approach to mental health care delivery and commitment to helping patients find their best therapist fit

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Headlight, a tech-forward mental health practice committed to offering patients convenience and a simplified care journey, today announced $18 million in new venture funding, led by Matrix and EPIC Ventures. Funding will help the company expand into additional states and add hundreds of new licensed therapists to their team by 2025. Prior to the transaction, Headlight added new executive leadership including Chief Executive Officer Geoff Swindle, former Chief Business Officer of PillPack and Amazon Pharmacy. In this role, Swindle led teams that developed thriving relationships with payers and built an acclaimed customer care function. With new venture backing and a refreshed brand, Headlight is creating a dynamic model that makes it radically easy for clinicians to practice and for patients to access the individualized care they deserve.

"Despite a proliferation of virtual services, 60% of adults in the U.S. who have sought mental health services still struggle to meet the most basic need^[1]: a qualified clinician who accepts their insurance and understands their unique situation," said Geoff Swindle, CEO. "Headlight focuses on helping patients get from initial interest in counseling to a well-aligned therapist and prescriber match faster and with less friction than existing options."

Founded by Drs. Manish Sheth and Shashita Inamdar, both MD-PhD's, Headlight's philosophy is to prioritize and optimize the clinicians' experience, not just the patient experience. The current venture funding will allow the company to prioritize efficiency through technology, simplify workflows and enable clinicians to focus on delivering top-quality care to their patients. The company's organizational structure fosters collaboration among clinical staff and actively involves them in key company decisions. Clinicians are all W-2 employees, creating a connected culture that prioritizes community between practitioners and ongoing training and credentialing. This model allows clinicians the time to stay current with the issues facing their patients. Reflecting their provider-led values, Headlight also has significant flexibility within the full-time employee model, which empowers clinicians to manage their work life balance.

In addition to being clinician-centric, Headlight is designing a patient experience that is simple, accessible, affordable, and delivers exceptional outcomes. For example, Headlight recognizes that the onboarding experience for many mental health services is often, in itself, traumatic. Patients must complete multiple pages of health information and revisit their reasons for seeking support. In response, Headlight is leveraging the team's deep pharmacy experience to launch secure onboarding flows that streamline and simplify the process. By importing and aggregating the patient's readily available medical and prescription history data Headlight will provide more holistic care of the patient and make clinical progress faster. Similar data-driven approaches will support the therapeutic alliance by better matching a patient's requirements with the clinician that best meets their needs.

Patients can seek care via telehealth or in-person and Headlight works to make the insurance cost as transparent as possible. Headlight is currently in-network and has dedicated credentialing with most payers in the states that they serve (Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Washington).

Manish Sheth, MD, PhD, Headlight's Chief Clinical Officer and co-Founder commented, "As an actively practicing Clinical Psychiatrist, I know patients want to connect with their clinicians and feel understood on a personal level. Our goal at Headlight is to make it as simple as possible for both clinicians and patients to form those connections."

About Headlight

Headlight is a mental health company dedicated to transforming the way mental health services are delivered. With a clinician-centered model, innovative technology, and a commitment to accessibility and affordability, Headlight is redefining mental health care. To learn more visit www.headlight.health.

Contact

Jacquelyn Miller

[email protected]

‪(617) 468-8243

^[1] source

SOURCE Headlight Health