For Immediate Release
September 13, 2016
Partnership Fund for New York City and New York eHealth Collaborative Announce Companies Selected for the 2016 Digital Health Accelerator Program
Emerging Digital Health Companies will Receive Access to Network of Industry Leaders in New York to Further Scale their Companies in Fourth Year of the Program
New York, NY – Six digital health companies have been selected for this year’s New York Digital Health Accelerator (NYDHA), a four-month program run by the Partnership Fund for New York City (Partnership Fund) and the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC). The 2016 NYDHA Class includes BMIQ, Diameter Health, eCaring, Healthify, Somatix, and Spring.
The NYDHA supports growth-stage digital health companies in developing their products and technology. The companies were nominated and then selected to be part of the 2016 Class through a rigorous process by top industry healthcare providers and payers. Industry involvement is a distinguishing feature of the NYDHA. The 2016 Class will receive valuable feedback from senior-level executives at New York’s leading healthcare organizations, enabling them to receive end user feedback and improve their technology at a critical moment in their development.
The participating healthcare organizations include Aetna, Allied Physicians, Central New York Health Home Network, Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network, Healthfirst, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Health System, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Northwell Health, NYU Langone Medical Center, Onondaga Case Management Services, Rochester Regional Health, Sachs Policy Group, SBH Health System, and Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
Additional mentorship will be provided by a syndicate of leading healthcare investors including Deerfield Management, Milestone Venture Partners, New Leaf Venture Partners, and Safeguard Scientifics.
“Increasingly digital health companies must be able to demonstrate that their products and services are going to be effective in the field. The access and feedback received through the distinctive NYDHA program helps businesses understand how clinicians use their technology, giving them the opportunity to make improvements based on their eventual customers’ wants and needs,” said Maria Gotsch President and CEO at the Partnership Fund for New York City. “With its concentration of emerging businesses, financial organizations and healthcare providers, New York City has become a leading center of innovation in healthcare.”
“The NYDHA continues to serve as a leading program to provide new, innovative tools and solutions healthcare professionals need to deliver better patient outcomes, reduce costs, and thrive in the DSRIP and value-based care era of healthcare in New York State,” said Valerie Grey, Executive Director of the New York eHealth Collaborative. “We look forward to working with this class of entrepreneurs to provide them access to mentors and the opportunity to test their solutions out at New York State’s leading healthcare organizations.”
The 2016 Class includes:
BMIQ delivers evidence-based dietary and behavioral interventions for diabetes prevention. BMIQ utilizes a combination of in-office or telehealth-based counseling, as well as web-based support between visits to effectively impact positive lifestyle change.
Diameter Health improves healthcare quality and efficiency through clinical intelligence by offering targeted, proprietary solutions to health providers so they can avoid penalties and succeed in an era of health reform. Diameter Health has created an innovative platform to fuel scalable and cost effective applications ranging from forecasting patient outcomes and adverse event risk to providing insight for clinical documentation and resource optimization.
eCaring is a comprehensive home care management solution that provides actionable, real time healthcare information from the home. Their system enables home care workers, patients and caregivers, regardless of their computer skills or language literacy, to enter data regarding physical and mental state, vital signs, critical behaviors and activities, medication adherence and care plan compliance.
Healthify helps payers and providers deliver on the promise of value by addressing the social determinants of health. Healthify’s web platform supports screening for social needs, finding services in a community, connecting people to community resources, coordinating referrals, and providing population health analytics related to social needs.
Somatix is a behavioral modification software platform, utilizing real-time interventions based on data gathered from standard wearables. Its first product, SmokeBeat, is addressing the global smoking cessation market; its customers include corporate employers, health insurance companies and clinics.
Spring uses machine-learning to dramatically improve behavioral healthcare. Spring’s first product eliminates the long and difficult trial-and-error process of selecting the appropriate treatment for depression through a 10-minute digital test.
The NYDHA program has demonstrated significant success, both for participants and the New York economy. The 21 companies that have participated to date have launched 39 pilots with providers in the network, created over 160 high-tech jobs in New York, and have raised a total of $230 million post program. Two of the program’s past participants, Avado and Remedy Systems, were also acquired within six months of completing the program.
The Partnership Fund and NYeC designed the unique program to cultivate the development of health information technology in New York, leveraging both the burgeoning tech sector and its extensive concentration of financial and healthcare organizations. The Partnership Fund has historically been a strong supporter of entrepreneurial businesses that promote economic development in New York. At the same time, NYeC has built relationships with a broad cross-section of healthcare organizations by coordinating the development of New York State’s health information exchange, the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY), and by helping healthcare providers embrace and implement new technologies. By partnering, the two organizations are able to foster technological innovation in the healthcare sector.
About the New York Digital Health Accelerator (NYDHA): The New York Digital Health Accelerator is a program run by the Partnership Fund for New York City and the New York eHealth Collaborative for growth-stage digital health companies that are developing cutting-edge technology products in patient engagement, care coordination, telehealth, population health and behavioral health tech. More information can be found at www.digitalhealthaccelerator.com & #NYDHA
The NYDHA was ranked the #1 Health IT Accelerator in the world by the Rotman School of Business based on 21 other programs and has been lauded by Todd Park, Former Chief Technical Officer of the United States and the California Healthcare Foundation for its deep industry ties.
About the Partnership Fund for New York City (Partnership Fund): The Partnership Fund for New York City is the $150 million investment arm of the Partnership for New York City, New York’s leading business organization. The Fund’s mission is to engage the city’s business leaders to identify and support promising NYC-based entrepreneurs in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors to create jobs, spur new business, and expand opportunities for New Yorkers to participate in the city’s economy. More information about the Fund can be found at www.pfnyc.org.
About the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC): NYeC is a not-for-profit organization working in partnership with the New York State Department of Health to improve healthcare for all New Yorkers through health information technology (health IT). Founded in 2006 by healthcare leaders, NYeC receives funding from state and federal grants to serve as the focal point for health IT in the State of New York. NYeC works to develop policies and standards, to assist healthcare providers in making the shift to electronic health records, and to coordinate the creation of the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY), a network to connect healthcare providers statewide. More information can be found at www.nyehealth.org.
Media Contacts:
Partnership Fund/Rubenstein Communications
Katy Feinberg, 212-843-8047
kfeinberg@rubenstein.com
NYeC
Jesse Giuliani, 646-619-6756
jgiuliani@nyehealth.org
