Telehealth is booming, and there’s no going back. The pandemic accelerated an already strong push towards delivering healthcare services more conveniently and cost-effectively over various telehealth platforms.
The push hasn’t been incremental either. The numbers themselves are staggering, with October 2020 showing a 3000% increase in telehealth visits compared to October the year prior.
Martin Schreiber, MD, Chief Medical Officer for DaVita Kidney Care adds, “COVID-19 has changed the way we view medicine and we’re not going to go back...We just have to get better at providing telemedicine. Everyone that is part of the health care team needs to get better at it.”
Schreiber goes on to describe the profound shift in how we treat patients. Use of telehealth by patients with chronic issues shot from under 40% to over 60% within the last year and a half. And in terms of care quality, more than half of patients report the telehealth experience being the same if not better than traditional in-person care.
Needless to say, telemedicine has become a mainstay in our lives.
Pettable Is a New Startup Making Waves in Telehealth
Pettable, a hypergrowth startup in NYC, launched earlier this year with the backing of Mechanism Ventures – a top VC fund out of the Bay Area. Their goal? To disrupt the future of medicine by building the country’s most robust network of mental health professionals.
Pettable’s vision is to deliver a higher standard of at-home care. The foundation for that begins and ends with the quality of their mental health professional team.
Pettable Is Cleaning Up the Emotional Support Animal and Psychiatric Service Dog Space
Pettable’s first focus has been building a talented team of clinicians, including clinical psychologists, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, and other mental health professionals. Across the various types of expertise, the team has deep experience in generalized mental health evaluations, and a long history of treating patients experiencing anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and a variety of other ailments through the use of emotional support animals (ESAs) and psychiatric service dogs (PSDs).
There are many companies out there that claim to offer legitimate services in this space. Pettable has found that a number of them don’t pass muster in a few key areas. Many of them claim to have a “registry” of Emotional Support Animals you can pay to join. In fact, no such registry exists. Any service claiming to offer this is a scam.
Additionally, many services will promise an ESA or PSD Letter – which one can use to bring a pet into housing that typically doesn’t allow pets – without performing any kind of live evaluation with a licensed mental health professional. Any such service that lets you purchase a letter without actually being properly evaluated over the phone or video is also a scam.
Landlords have gotten wiser about the existence of ESA and PSD Letter scams and are cracking down on fraudulent letters. Pettable has built their unique service from the ground up and wants to give consumers and landlords confidence that Pettable is a reputable service they can trust.
Pettable’s team of licensed mental health professionals have seen it all and are equipped to handle a variety of specific and unique situations pertaining to ESAs and PSDs. Pettable also offers a money-back satisfaction guarantee – meaning your letter will work or your money back.
Pets Can Be a Therapeutic, Non-invasive Approach to Treating Mental Health Illnesses
Yes, you heard that right! The research on the impact pets can have on mental health is both staggering and encouraging. Patients with ESAs and PSDs have reported being able to better manage anxiety, a reduction in their depressive symptoms, and increased levels of activity, socialization, and overall well-being – and in many cases without needing to take medication.
Pettable Has Plans That Go Far Beyond ESAs
Pettable sees its team of clinicians as one of its core differentiators and key advantages over competitors in the space. By taking a rigorous approach to recruiting and setting a high standard for the professionals it works with, Pettable has plans to launch services targeting the following illnesses:
- ADD/ADHD
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Weight Management
- Pain Management
- Integrative Care
- Alcohol Addiction
And much more to come as well. Pettable is tackling the problem of one in two Americans developing a mental health illness by focusing on providing a higher standard of care for people that are already suffering from a variety of different challenges.
Additionally, they have big plans to move into the mental fitness and wellness space by helping people prevent illness in the first place.
The future of mental health care looks promising thanks to startups like Pettable.
**Note that it is important to continue any medication you and your doctor have discussed taking as a proper course of treatment for your unique mental health circumstances. An ESA or PSD is never intended to replace any agreed-on course of treatment – rather they can increase the effectiveness of an existing course of treatment and also help those who may not respond as well to or prefer not to take medication.