“Traditional treatment is expensive, judgmental, and difficult to find. Many centers aren’t regulated and don’t utilize the latest research in their care. It doesn’t have to be this way.” This problem with addiction treatment is one that Robin McIntosh and Lisa McLaughlin sought to solve when they co-founded Workit Health. Workit is one of the nation’s leading providers of virtual care for substance use, mental health, and co-occurring disorders. The Ann Arbor-based startup seeks to change the way addiction is treated in America, by bringing clinicians, advocates, and technologists together to provide care that is affordable, accessible, and non-judgmental. Both co-CEOs McIntosh and McLaughlin are familiar with the problems with addiction and substance use disorder treatment, having met in rehab. They know that only 1 in 10 Americans struggling with substance use disorder receive treatment, due to either stigma or lack of affordability. Workit aims to address these problems.
Workit Health saw a 400% growth in membership over the past 18 months, driven by the increased need for telemedicine during the Covid-19 pandemic. McIntosh says, “We lost a record-breaking 90,000 people to overdose deaths last year due to an outdated treatment system. Thousands of inpatient programs shuttered, leaving patients nationwide stranded and cut off from access to care. With Workit, starting on the journey to recovery is as simple as downloading an app. Our ultimate goal is to democratize access to addiction care for anyone who wants it.” One of Workit’s offerings is an online evidence-based therapy program across the US, that allows patients to access affordable and accessible care. In addition, Workit offers medication for opioid and alcohol use disorder in 10 states, where they also directly employ local doctors, nurse practitioners, and social workers to support their patients. It is clear that Workit’s approach is working; the company is the leading telemedicine app on iOS and Android, having provided treatment to over 20,000 patients to date. According to a news release, their members also stay in the program much longer than the industry average, with 84% retention after 30 days, compared to just 33%.
Workit Health recently raised $118 million in Series C funding led by Insight Partners. With this funding, Workit plans to accelerate growth into new markets, expand their primary and physician care offerings, and go national by 2023 by opening in one state per month in 2022. “It is a delicate balance between having a national footprint, which we’re aggressively building towards, and ensuring that every market that we’re in has local representation” explains McLaughlin. With this plan, Workit Health hopes to continue to be the nation’s leading provider of addiction treatment, providing affordable, non-judgmental, and effective care.