Private company research firm CB Insights recently highlighted UPMC Enterprises as one of the top corporate innovation labs in health care. Two UPMC portfolio companies, Vivify Health and Curavi Health, were also called out as notable projects.
CB Insights, which produces widely read research reports on health IT and technology trends, in September published a list of 19 health care-focused innovation organizations. The list is behind CB Insights’ paywall but we have read the report and it is summarized below.
What CB Insights says about ‘Innovation Labs’
They are “essential tools for developing solutions to some of the industry’s biggest problems,” CB Insights says in the report. Those problems range from “the digitization of medical records to smart patient care platforms.”
“These labs and accelerators are tasked with finding the next big idea that will deliver on patient care while being more transparent and reducing costs over the long run,” CB Insights said.
Where UPMC Enterprises ranks
- OptumLabs – Optum and the Mayo Clinic
- Center for Innovation – McKesson and the Mayo Clinic
- Cardinal Health – Fuse
- Johnson & Johnson Innovation
- AARP – The Hatchery
- Merck – Center for Observational & Real-World Evidence (CORE)
- Verily
- Boston Children’s Hospital – Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator
- Health and Human Services Idea Lab
- Pfizer – Worldwide Innovation
- UPMC Enterprises
- New York Digital Health Innovation Lab
- Bayer – Open Innovation
- AstraZeneca – Open Innovation
- Medtronic – Applied Innovation Lab
Also on the list were health systems Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Intermountain Healthcare, plus the Hearst Health Innovation Lab.
Here’s the full entry for UPMC:
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER — UPMC ENTERPRISES
- Founded: 2014
- Key people:
- Tal Heppenstall, Executive VP and Treasurer, UPMC, President, UPMC Enterprises;
- Adam Berger, PhD, Chief Technology Officer, UPMC Enterprises
UPMC Enterprises invests in two core areas: translational science (which conducts laboratory-to-human research, applying research to human subjects) and technology solutions to empower both medical professionals and patients.
Notable projects:
Vivify Health is a remote care platform for monitoring patients and can be accessed from mobile devices. Patients have direct access to their healthcare providers, who can virtually monitor and provide continuing care. Vivify formed a partnership with UPMC Enterprises and the platform is being tested in a variety of use case scenarios to help reduce hospitalizations.
Curavi Health is a telemedicine solution aimed at reducing hospitalization in nursing home patients. Doctors can remotely connect with patients and use digital stethoscopes, otoscopes, and EKG systems to monitor health and advise care. Curavi was developed in-house at UPMC and then spun out as a portfolio company in 2016.
