Revolutionizing Behavioral Health: AlThing Clinic’s AIRS System Wins TAG Award!
The TAG Awards team is proud to shine a spotlight on a truly groundbreaking innovation that’s reshaping the landscape of proactive healthcare.
AlThing Clinic, under the visionary leadership of CEO Matt Johnson, has just been honored with a 2025 TAG Award for MedTech in the Healthcare category for their revolutionary AIRS system.
This isn't just another award; it's a recognition of a major leap forward in addressing some of the most critical public health challenges of our time: accessibility, personalization, and early intervention in behavioral health.
From Crisis to Comprehensive Care: The AIRS Journey
As Matt shared in a recent episode of TAG'D Beyond the Award, the genesis of AIRS stemmed from a deeply concerning reality: the escalating behavioral health challenges facing K-12 students. With one in three students struggling with a significant behavioral health issue annually, and suicide tragically becoming the number one killer among youth, the need for effective intervention was undeniable.
AlThing Clinic began its journey by recognizing a critical gap: traditional services were only reaching a fraction of those in need. Kids lacked agency and privacy, often afraid to disclose their struggles for fear of retribution. AIRS was designed to overcome these barriers by providing a completely private, HIPAA-compliant platform for students (and now, adults) to connect with qualified healthcare providers.
How AIRS Works: A Seamless Path to Support
Imagine a high schooler walking into a room, picking up a handheld device – not just a tablet, but an FDA-qualified medical system – and being offered a direct, private encounter with a healthcare provider. This is the power of AIRS.
- Universal Assessment: AIRS initiates a universal assessment, allowing thousands of individuals to engage with the system.
- Agency and Privacy: Users choose a provider that matches their race, gender, culture, and language, fostering comfort and trust. Critically, their interactions are entirely private, protected by HIPAA, and not shared with schools or even parents without consent (for those 12 and older).
- Real-time Intervention: As individuals share their concerns, the system begins to score their behavioral health, alerting providers in real-time. This can lead to immediate one-on-one conversations, direct chats, or even face-to-face interactions within the same session.
- Seamless Referrals and Ongoing Care: If further intervention is needed, AlThing Clinic provides direct referrals to community resources or offers ongoing clinical services directly within the school setting, integrated into the school day. This ensures no one is left behind, eliminating common barriers to accessing care like transportation or scheduling.
Beyond K-12: A Scalable Solution for All
While its roots are in K-12 education, the impact of AIRS is rapidly expanding. AlThing Clinic is now actively supporting:
- Veterans and First Responders: Addressing PTSD and other unique challenges faced by these crucial groups.
- Senior Citizens: Combating loneliness, depression, and other health concerns prevalent in this population.
- Athletes: Helping individuals identify stressors, manage diet, and develop a healthy vision for themselves.
- Municipalities and Adult Populations: Offering proactive health services to city and county offices, firefighters, and EMTs.
The scalability of AIRS is truly remarkable. With the ability to conduct up to 72,000 encounters every 24 hours without compromising on quality or referrals, AlThing Clinic is making a tangible difference in the lives of countless individuals.
The Future of Proactive Healthcare
As Matt articulated, the future of healthcare lies in proactive health, bringing care directly to individuals in a safe and qualified manner. The TAG Award is a testament to AlThing Clinic's dedication to this vision. Their success highlights not only a novel system but also the profound impact of connecting patients with providers in a truly accessible way.
The judges lauded AIRS for its "clear benefit," its "interesting idea in a really crowded space," and its ability to "address a real world need." We couldn't agree more.
Congratulations again to Matt Johnson and the entire team at AlThing Clinic for their incredible achievement. Their work is not just groundbreaking; it's genuinely life-changing. We eagerly anticipate the continued evolution and impact of the AIRS system as it continues to grow and improve lives across the country.
Want to learn more?
Check out the full interview on TAG'D Beyond the Award, " The Future of Proactive Health: Unpacking Althing Clinic's Award-Winning AIRs System"
and for deeper insights from the clinicians and patients themselves, visit the AlThing Clinic YouTube channel.