AgeTech Collaborative™ startup participant Rose Health is a digital mental health platform that leverages deep tech and deep science for the early detection of depression and mood disorders. Once a patient is identified, Rose utilizes in-house algorithms to move the patient from early identification to intervention and remission with the patient’s clinician. Our platform delivers the right care to the right person at the right time.
Founder and CEO Kavi Misri spent time talking with us about how Rose Health is disrupting the mental healthcare space, and shared his personal inspiration for starting the company.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Please tell us about Rose Health.
Rose Health is a digital mental health platform that leverages deep tech and deep science for the early detection of depression and mood disorders. Once we identify those individuals, we bring them onto our platform and provide them with resources such as interactive classes, videos and audio recordings to help them build mental health resiliency and coping mechanisms.
What do you mean when you talk about “deep tech” and “deep science”?
Deep tech means that we leverage seven different AI algorithms that help us frictionlessly move the patient throughout the continuum of care.
One of our algorithms identifies patients who are at risk by using claims and electronic health records data. One of our most popular algorithms is our natural language parsing algorithm, which processes journal entries; it can detect with 99% accuracy if someone is going through things like anxiety, depression, or relationship or financial issues. Our algorithms take all the information and create a “Rose score,” which is kind of like a mental health credit score, which helps us get the patient to the right care at the right time.
Deep science is being able to leverage evidence-based care — for example, looking at how digital phenotyping can tell a story about the patient so clinicians can understand what the patient is going through.
How does Rose Health get access to all that information?
We work with your clinicians; everyone signs documentation, then we’re able to access data by scanning electronic health records (EHRs) for certain parameters.
We also work with digital biomarkers. Your smartwatch tracks your activity, sleep and exercise; we also look at the light sensitivity monitor and accelerometer on your phone. That’s how we can tell, for example, if a person is sleeping for 13 hours at a time, or if they’re playing on their phone for hours out of depression.
What happens once you’ve identified someone who could benefit from some form of intervention? Does a notification pop up on their phone?
Yes, actually – especially because we use the PHQ-9 Depression Scale questionnaire, which has a question about suicidal ideation. In the event that someone scores high on the scale, or answers yes to the suicidal ideation question, a pop-up will appear on their phone recommending that they call 911 or reach out to our care team. We also have access to a therapist 24/7.
You have therapists on call?
Essentially, yes. We white-label the solution from a care coordination company that has hundreds of therapists, psychiatrists and psychologists on call. They can pick up a call within 30 seconds.
What inspired you to start the company?
I started Rose Health about four years ago, based on two realizations I had.
My background is in healthcare investment. As a young executive, I saw how digital therapeutics and tools positively impacted the cost of care and patient outcomes. But I also saw the negative impact because we didn’t have digital technologies for mental health. So there was a large opportunity on the business side.
But what really got me started on Rose Health was personal. After working 80–100 hours a week for seven years, I burned out and fell into depression. I was bedridden with depression for about a month. I learned very quickly that depression is not a passive state — it’s a pain that takes over your entire body.
Luckily, I had the wherewithal and support to seek care, but I was blown away by the inefficiencies of both accessing care and navigating the mental healthcare system as a whole. So I leveraged my experience as an investor, and especially as a patient, to build Rose Health into what it is today.
What are some challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I first started, I thought I was committing career suicide because I shared my personal story about being burned out — I wasn’t sure what investment bank or VC would want to invest in someone who had burned out, especially given the hours and stress involved in founding a company.
Also, I was building out a platform where the two strengths you need are in deep tech and deep science — and I had neither. My background is in investments and finance, so I had to find that talent, which was difficult early on.
It seems clear that Rose Health can benefit people of any age. Are there particular benefits for people who are 50-plus?
We have a product that’s specific to the aging population, which allows for early detection of depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, insomnia and pain, and we’re also getting into the areas of cognitive decay, dementia and traumatic brain injury.
We also have a program focused specifically on social isolation and loneliness, which includes interactive classes and things like bingo, karaoke and even trivia. There are also more serious classes, such as journal writing. We’ve built a community for seniors so that we can provide them with live interaction with a human every single day.
What’s next on the horizon for Rose Health?
Last year, we were acquired by a company called Precise Behavioral; we’re now the technical arm of that company, and it gives us access to a large psychiatric network. I’m in charge of innovation and the product, and I’m excited to have the resources needed to build the product so that we can further enhance the deep tech and deep science of Rose Health, with the goal being to continue building out earlier detection. After that, the next phase is able to leverage speech and audio for early detection of depression and mood disorders.
To learn more about Rose Health, visit their website.
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