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Dr, Dekel Taliaz, CEO and co founder of the mental health technology company Taliaz Ltd., described how his platform uses AI and machine learning to support psychiatrists by reducing administrative burdens and accelerating access to treatment, in an interview with The Jerusalem Post's Business and Innovation Podcast with Anna Ahronheim.
Taliaz, who completed his PhD at the Weizmann Institute studying the molecular mechanisms of psychiatric disorders, said he founded the company after recognizing that mental health care had changed little in recent decades despite rapid advances in technology. He launched the company with his brother to bring machine learning tools into psychiatry, an area he described as both complex and underserved, as it addresses a growing shortage of psychiatric care, a challenge that intensified dramatically after the October 7 attacks.
The company already operated a private mental health clinic in Israel and digital services in Europe when the October 7 attacks reshaped the country’s mental health landscape. Taliaz said the company immediately halted its European operations and redirected resources to Israel, working with the Health Ministry and resilience centers to provide psychiatric care for evacuees and trauma victims.
Through its online platform, the company connected patients with psychiatrists in Israel and abroad who are licensed to practice in the country. Taliaz said the system helped treat thousands of patients quickly at a time when demand surged and waiting lists for psychiatric care expanded dramatically.
The process
The platform gathers patient information, summarizes clinical data, and manages treatment follow ups, allowing psychiatrists to focus more on diagnosis and care rather than administrative work. Taliaz said the system can enable doctors to see significantly more patients by streamlining these processes.
He emphasized that the AI does not make clinical decisions. Instead, it organizes information so doctors can make more informed judgments.
Despite advances in technology, Taliaz argued that human expertise remains central to psychiatric care. “The human touch,” he said, remains the one element technology cannot replace.