#37: Bridging The Gap Between Physical and Mental Health in Chronic Care with Dr. Hillary Lin, Co-Founder and CEO of Curio

What you’ll get out of this episodeListen in as host Tim Fitzpatrick chats with Hillary Lin about Hillary’s journey from launching Curio at the start of the pandemic to navigating their latest pivot into cancer care. Hillary’s training and clinical experience led her to founding a holistic wellness startup that evolved into psychedelic-assisted therapy to where it is now as a comprehensive care delivery and navigation company. While Curio’s vision has not wavered, the team’s resilience and continued focus on patients has guided the evolution and expansion of their care infrastructure platform. In this episode you’ll discover:What led Curio to provide supportive care to patients who have recently been diagnosed with complex chronic illnesses like cancer.How Hillary and her team have adapted their ketamine-assisted therapy treatments in this new model, and the outcomes they’ve seen from PHQ-9 and GAD-7 in as little as one month for patients using the assisted therapy.Why Hillary is hopeful that generative AI will revolutionize patient education in healthcare and make managing diagnosis easier to navigate.Why New York City is the place to build your health tech startup – Spoiler Alert: a community of familiar faces and fearless friends!Final Frontier - 5 Questions in 50 SecondsTop Challenge: The recent company pivot. When Curio changed the company vision, Hillary worked on rebuilding the relationship with partners and gaining new patients. Also, becoming in-network providers with insuranceTop Opportunity: Building AI native care delivery.Tech Trend You’re Following: VR/AR - New Apple VR headsets.Top Media Recs: Outlive by Peter AttiaHealthcare / Tech Leader(s) You’re Following: Peter Attia Eric Topol Andrew YingQuotables“In the beginning, I was so burnt out and frustrated with healthcare that I very much wanted to start a wellness company. What I mean by that, is we were coaching people to explore their emotions. From the basics of even labeling emotions and understanding mindfulness around your emotions to regulating them and to much more sophisticated ways of interacting using emotional language and expression. We even used to host improv classes to help people explore.” @HillaryLin #joinCurio on Ep37 @T-Minus10 w/ @trfitzpatrick. Recommended ResourcesWe're redefining comprehensive care.We Are Overmedicated. How Can We Use Psychedelics To Heal Not Just Individuals, But Entire Systems? DEA, SAMHSA Extend COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescribing Controlled Medications for Six Months While Considering Comments from the Public Join the ConversationHillary Lin on LinkedInHillary Lin on TwitterCurio on Medium“I am a physician and founder of a mental healthtech startup (Curio). So what are my thoughts on emotional chatbots? At the time of writing, I'm undecided because this realm is still developing as we speak. I think early versions of emotional support chatbots will not feel incredibly fulfilling or validating to most users. However, there is a world where people may be so socialized to AI entities that they will feel at home interacting with them. For now, I'm more interested in how AI can help us think and stay accountable to our own goals. More of a coach, perhaps, than a therapist. The New York Times published an article on Inflection AI's Pi companion, which seems to validate this feeling. "With a level of enthusiasm only a robot could muster before coffee, Pi pushed me to break down my to-do list to create a realistic plan. Like much of the bot’s advice, it was obvious and simple, the kind of thing you would read in a self-help article by a productivity guru. But it was tailored specifically to me — and it worked.I'm curious to hear from people who have tried interacting with the latest emotional chatbots - what did you think about your experience?” (LinkedIn)“ 🎉 Breaking News for Digital Health Companies 🌐💊 The DEA has decided to extend the current COVID-19 telemedicine flexibilities for the prescription of controlled medications while they continue to consider the 38,000 comments received on their proposed telemedicine rules. This decision reflects a recognition of the essential role that telemedicine plays in providing Americans with access to necessary medications, and it is a significant milestone for companies like Curio. Our services, which include care navigation, coaching, therapy, medication management, and ketamine-assisted therapy, will continue to be available for those struggling with mental health challenges. We await further details on the draft Temporary Rule and its implications for digital health. This extension will enable us to continue offering transformative ketamine treatments virtually to those who need it most, bridging the gap between patients and quality care. 🙌💡”  (LinkedIn)About Your HostTim Fitzpatrick is the CEO of IKONA Health, a company using neurobiology and immersive technology to improve how patients learn about their care and treatment options. Tim co-founded IKONA based on his own patient experiences while serving in the US Navy and now in the VA health system. He has served as Principal Investigator on multiple federal research grants, has co-authored papers on learning science, VR, and mental health in the age of COVID-19, and has partnered with top healthcare investors and institutions including the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, National Artificial Intelligence Institute, StartUp Health, On Deck, FundRx, MATTER and NVIDIA. Tim explores the future of learning and technology in healthcare on T-Minus 10 (biweekly podcast) and in Signals From [Space] (monthly newsletter).