Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare, the largest health system in Georgia, is expanding to add a commercial unit that will nurture new technology businesses. Emory’s Innovation Hub will also raise a venture fund for developing and accelerating early-stage, consumer-centric health technologies and care models. 

The move is one that some healthcare systems have taken to make advances in healthcare and healthcare technology. UPMC Enterprises is one example. It has 14 companies in its portfolio, including Health Catalyst, Xealth and Curavi Health. Its mission, as UPMC puts it, is “to create products and businesses that make life-changing medicine happen.”

There are others. For instance, Cleveland Clinic Innovations launched its program in 2000, and has built up its portfolio since. Among its many businesses, it incubated was Explorys in 2009 to leverage big data in healthcare. IBM acquired Explorys in 2015.

The Emory Healthcare Innovation Hub is slated to launch on Sept. 1. To build new businesses, Emory plans to partner with leading tech companies in critical healthcare IT areas – such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and the Internet of Things

Sharecare, which provides a consumer wellness engagement platform, will be first to partner with Emory. Other partners will be announced over the next few months, executives noted.

Emory leaders plan to have up to eight strategic partners, Scott Boden, MD, said in a news release. Boden is vice president of business innovation for Emory Healthcare and chief medical and quality officer for Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital. 

Emory is looking to partner with technology leaders to create an ecosystem of rapid innovation to first identify the most pressing and most fundable opportunities, Boten said, adding that the plan is to match them with solutions to accelerate commercialization.

As the U.S. healthcare system shifts from fee-for-service to value-based care, it is critical that doctors and healthcare technology leaders “not only understand the evolving needs of patients and providers but also address those needs in ways that maximize technology to both enable the best possible care and engage patients throughout the entire care journey,” Boden said. 

Executives did not disclose the amount of capital they plan to raise.

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