Mental health has been hidden behind a curtain of stigma and discrimination for too long. In fact, mental disorders are very common and widespread. Every year, an estimated 450 million people suffer from some form of mental disorder. A mental illness causes mild to severe disturbances in thoughts or overall behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, NeuroFlow is giving hope to the patients having mental health disorder. NeuroFlow’s HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based platform engages patients using evidence-based practices to support their mental health.
In an exclusive talk with NeuroFlow CEO Christopher Molaro, Mirror Review asks him about NeuroFlow’s contribution to the healthcare industry. Christopher also shares his personal journey and experiences that inspired him to establish NeuroFlow. Here are the excerpts.
What is the present day scenario of the healthcare industry? To what extent, does the healthcare sector define a nation’s progress and economy?
We’re seeing signs that the healthcare industry is on the right path. Sure, we hear so much about dysfunction and lack of integration with technology, but many health systems are willing to listen to innovative ideas. That’s really all we can ask. As our technology enhances its capabilities and scales, we will work with some of the industry’s big providers to solve problems related to mental health and the delivery of care.
As for the nation’s progress, it’s not solely continent on healthcare. From our vantage point, we see the issues clearly and how to improve the industry. The nation is filled with leaders who are dedicated to “cracking the code” on affordable, technology-enabled solutions. As long as the national budget prioritizes healthcare and allocates money to the right focus areas, the countries will make the necessary improvements.
Tell us about your company and its unique range of services. In the modern era of technology, how NeuroFlow has adapted to those changes in its working ecosystem?
We’re on a mission to build a better standard of care for mental illness. Healthcare professionals are our heroes, and we’re just providing the right tools to make better, more data-driven decisions. NeuroFlow’s platform allows clinical professionals to track, measure, and treat patients suffering from problems like PTSD, stress, and anxiety. With real-time biometric feedback, patients are also able to understand the root cause of behavioral patterns, as they offer up key insights by journaling and recording “homework” assignments beyond a weekly session. Clinical professionals have called it the “more comprehensive technology” in this space to date. We’ve been able to make their jobs more efficient, saving their time and allowing them to see more patients and address issues more accurately.
Our readers would like to know about your personal journey. What attracted you to start a venture in the healthcare sector?
Serving others and being a part of something bigger than you have always been my motive. That’s what drove me to West Point to earn a degree and fight in the U.S. Army. With a deployment in Iraq, I was able to gain incredible experience leading 40 men and women in battle on foreign soil. It’s something that will always live with me. I was also awakened by the debilitating impact of depression and mental illness. I witnessed soldiers face serious challenges at home, and I knew I had to act. I would earn an MBA from The Wharton School, where NeuroFlow was born through research at the institution’s Neuroscience Department.
As a Leader of a prominent healthcare company, what role do you play in its operations and growth? How do you tackle professional crisis?
For the first 18 months of the company’s existence, Co-Founder, Adam Pardes and I were the sales team. Along with key angel investor Wayne Tamarelli, we made up the governing body. It was never been easier to get to more than 100 clinics and make a perfect product by improving and evolving it several times. Now, we have reached a point where we have dedicated team members overseeing customer relations and a sales team bringing in new business.
As for a professional crisis, we take them very seriously. In the military, you have contingency plans. That’s true in the startup world as well. If we don’t make sales goals, there is criticism. If the product doesn’t do what we say it will do, that’s a potential reputational issue. By acting professionally and quickly, Neuroflow has been able to mitigate risk and “swerve” away from major problems.
How does your company stand apart from its competitors? What are your future milestones for NeuroFlow?
We have been decisive with the product’s initial market-fit, finding the right “champions” and users deploy with. The technology is capable of real-time data profiling, it’s responsive for clinicians, and it serves as a baseline for treatment. Our target is clinical settings, and this is not only an untapped market, but an unmet need for healthcare professionals.
Additionally, after participating in the Smart Health Innovation Lab at Penn Medicine Lancaster General, we are compatible with a major health system, integrating with EHRs and working toward reimbursement. Nobody else — to this point — has been able to put all of these variables together.
We are currently focusing on our next capital raise and rolling out a new product before the end of 2018.
Who was your source of inspiration during the start of your professional career? Whom would you like to dedicate your success?
Attributing my source of inspiration and whom I owe my success to is an impossible task. In a lot of ways, I have been incredibly lucky to have had those sets of people from my early age and throughout my life. Everyone from teachers to sports coaches, to administrators were truly invested in my success.
Of course, my parents and other family members were always key guideposts, but my father was an extraordinary role model for my work ethic and the ability to have grit, patience, and empathy all tied into one effort to successfully achieve goals.
I am a huge fan of Louis Pasteur’s quote when he said: “fortune favors the prepared mind.” I think success is a combination of hard work and a component of luck so that hard work can come to fruition.
All that said, there is still an incredible amount of work to do before our mission is accomplished, and while I am confident that we are on the right path, I would not define it as successful yet.