TelePsych Alliance Selects Kandy to Power Innovative Real-Time Communications Enabled Suicide Prevention App
San Francisco and New York – September 2, 2015 – GENBAND, a leading developer of real-time communications software solutions and 2015 CNBC Disruptor 50, today announced that its Kandy communications platform has been selected by The TelePsych Alliance to help individuals at risk of depression and suicide via one of the first real-time communications enabled suicide prevention apps, MindMe™. TelePsych is a collaborative partnership between New York Presbyterian/Cornell Medical College, Burke Medical Research Institute and Interlecta Mobile Innovations. Kandy is powering The TelePsych Alliance’s MindMe platform and application, which makes it possible for individuals at risk of depression and suicide to access self-driven treatment or professional help 24/7.
The TelePsych solution, MindMe, leverages advanced psychotherapy approaches to break the cycle of suicidal thoughts and ideations in vulnerable individuals through an innovative self-guided approach that includes instant messaging, voice and video conversations with therapists.
The MindMe application, currently in clinical trials at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College, leverages Kandy’s industry-leading WebRTC technology by extending the therapist-patient conversation beyond the monthly or weekly in-person visits often limited by healthcare plans, disability or distance. Kandy is GENBAND’s market-leading cloud communications platform that allows anyone from developers to large enterprises to Fortune 500 companies to embed contextual real-time communications capabilities directly into business applications in minutes.
“Care for individuals at risk of suicide should be person-centered, where their personal fears, anxieties, needs, values and overall emotions become the foundation of developing a plan that integrates triggers, solutions, distractions and strategies on a daily basis,” said Dr. David Putrino co-developer of the platform and Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Director of TeleMedicine and Virtual Rehabilitation at Burke Medical Research Institute. “MindMe makes it easier for an individual to reach out to a therapist or counselor in real-time, without resorting to standard telephone counseling, going to a website, or otherwise having to leave the experience they are in whether on a native mobile application or web application.”
“The information captured is secure and private, and makes it possible for the attending therapist or counselor to not only serve the individual patient, but learn from the aggregated, privatized data which approaches and treatments are most successful for the general population,” said Frank Fleming, co-founder of Interlecta. “This represents a major step forward for the behavioral health research and treatment world in addressing mental healthcare solutions across the established continuum, and rethinking the delivery and context of current geographical, institutional and technological treatment models. This is an innovative and unique use of WebRTC in an application to improve the emotional wellbeing of individuals in need.”
“The solution that the TelePsych Alliance created is truly inspiring,” said Paul Pluschkell, co-founder of Kandy and Executive Vice President of Strategy and Cloud Services at GENBAND. “Kandy is all about humanizing online experiences – so being a part of such a powerful solution that can help treat at risk-individuals by providing them with real-time access to therapists is something that we are extremely proud of.”
Key Takeaways:
- Kandy’s WebRTC technology is powering the new MindMe app, one of the first real-time communications enabled suicide prevention apps. Mindme makes it possible for individuals at risk of depression and suicide to access self-driven treatment or professional help 24/7.
- The solution is currently in clinical trials at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College. While the first module addresses Suicide Prevention it will be followed by other remote therapy programs addressing additional psychiatric conditions, including anxiety and PTSD.
- Kandy is GENBAND’s market-leading cloud communications platform that allows anyone to embed contextual real-time communications capabilities directly into business applications in minutes.
About TelePsych Alliance
Founded in 2014, our DNA is part Psychiatric Research Hospital, part TeleMedicine Research Institute, part Academic Institution and part a Mobile Development Agency. All sectors are comprised of highly specialized professionals with expertise spanning various academic, medical and digital disciplines across multiple technological sectors. Our dedicated teams form partner alliances with each client in creating product efficiencies through successful software solutions and services.
Through ongoing TeleMedical, Robotic, Virtual & Psychiatric Platform Development, the TelePsych Alliance is poised to take advantage of the unlimited growth opportunities that exist today at the various nexus points within the tele medical and mobile marketplace. For more information visit:
About Kandy
GENBAND’s Kandy communications Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is a real-time software development platform built from GENBAND’s core communications, presence, security and real-time technologies. Kandy enables service providers, enterprises, software vendors, systems integrators, partners and developers to enrich their applications and services with real-time contextual communications, providing a more engaging user experience. With Kandy, companies of all sizes and types can quickly embed real-time communications capabilities into their existing applications and business processes. For more information visit kandy.io.
About GENBAND
GENBAND, a 2015 CNBC Disruptor 50, is a global leader in real-time communications software solutions for service providers, enterprises, independent software vendors, systems integrators and developers in over 80 countries. The company’s Network Modernization, Unified Communications, Mobility and Embedded Communications solutions enable its customers to quickly capitalize on growing market segments and introduce differentiating products, applications and services. GENBAND’s market-leading solutions, which are deployable in the network, on premise or through the cloud, help its customers connect people to each other and address the growing demands of today’s consumers and businesses for real-time communications wherever they happen to be. To learn more visit www.genband.com.
GENBAND, the GENBAND logo and icon and Kandy are trademarks of GENBAND.
Company Contacts:
Dennis Watson
GENBAND US PR
+1.972.521.5921
Dennis.Watson@genband.com
Catherine Berthier
GENBAND International PR
+1.646.741.1974
Catherine.Berthier@genband.com
