Managing Mental Healthcare – Ravi Sharma, the Co-founder and CEO of OOTify – Improving Opportunities For Those Who Seek Quality Mental Healthcare, Via Technology

Ravi Sharma, the co-founder, and CEO of OOTify (ootify.com) delivers an informative overview of the important work his company is engaged in that seeks to bring quality mental health care to everyone who needs it. Sharma has a wealth of experience in multiple sectors of industry and is a proven leader in business, technology, and investing, but his passion and primary goal is to improve mental health options for everyone. Sharma's background includes his tenure at Western Asset Management Company where his skills in on-boarding quality lenders, drafting underwriting guidelines for investment mandates, loan level due diligence for credit and compliance, and more, helped lift the company to a higher level of success. And in just 3 years at Western Asset Management Company, Sharma grew the loan portfolio to more than $1 billion, targeting double-digit returns. Before his successful time with Western Asset Management Company, Sharma helped to build and then exit several tech companies. He is a strong advocate for mental health and clean technology.

Sharma describes OOTify as a mental health marketplace that seeks to match individuals with the best possible providers for their unique needs. OOTify is a community of professionals, mentors and peers focused intently on personal development and helping individuals build healthier relationships. Part of the company name, 'oot,' is derived from the Hindi language; it means, simply, to 'lift up,' and OOTify's mission is certainly all about lifting people up. OOTify allows users to connect with mental health professionals, a life coach, or verified mentor, easily and swiftly, via their phone. Sharma describes the many options users can take advantage of on the platform, such as audio, video, or messaging, connecting with trained professionals who can help, right from the comfort of the user's phone. It's on-demand online therapy that seeks to improve lives. Sharma discusses 'the fabric,' which is his term for the community forum that is a compilation of different threads that is modified by multiple, qualified individuals who provide support. Users can benefit from hearing and reading about others' experiences, engage in Q&A with experienced professionals, and more.

Sharma describes how OOTify's powerful mental health technology utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to match mental health providers, life coaches, and other carefully screened professionals to users through their open marketplace. OOTify will assist with the intake process via their AI chatbot, streamline it, and improve the process of delivery of quality mental health care. And Sharma discusses the importance of quality matching, which is why OOTify's intake process is essential. For as Sharma states, while the most educated and celebrated authority on a particular mental illness may seem perfect on paper, credentials, and experience aside, that individual may not be right for everyone because it is critical that the mental healthcare seeker connect or vibe well with their mental health care provider.

The healthcare technology advocate discusses the massive amount of feedback he has received from healthcare professionals who appreciate how OOTify is leveraging technology to bring care to individuals. Healthcare professionals acknowledge the power of the OOTify application as it hosts powerful productivity tools such as HIPAA compliant video, audio and messaging, and also assists with billing and scheduling. OOTify stresses however that the AI does not make any care decisions for those seeking help, but rather is leveraged to help providers match with new clients, gain insight via client data metrics, and generally be more efficient overall, so they can spend their time helping people as opposed to doing administrative work.

Sharma details the OOTify rewards program and other ways in which they seek to acknowledge and support those providers who receive exceptional feedback and high ratings from users. He provides information on some notable acknowledgments of their groundbreaking mental health technology work that they have received from respected institutions such as the USC Keck School of Medicine.

OOTify partners with prestigious institutions such as the University of Southern California, Loyola Marymount University, and others, as well as many respected businesses and community leaders. And the community is supported by technologists, businesses, many other academic institutions, non-profits, teachers, parents, and nearly everyone who grasps the importance of providing quality mental health care.