Finalists Announced in UHC Start-up Challenge: Innovation Delivered

CHICAGO, Oct. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- UHC and AVIA have announced the 5 digital health company finalists in the UHC's Start-up Challenge: Innovation Delivered, to be held at the UHC Annual Conference 2013, "Pulse," on October 17-18 in Atlanta, Ga. Each company will showcase its innovative medical solution to a panel of judges and an audience of health care professionals. The winning company, based on the real-time votes of the judges and audience members, will receive a $10,000 grand prize and advisory support from UHC and AVIA for 1 year.

In addition, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)—a U.S. not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting a better understanding of health care information and management systems—will offer the winning company a featured role at the Venture+ Forum at HIMSS14, which includes a speaking opportunity during the conference.

The finalists are:

• CAVA (Center for Applied Value Analytics): CAVA provides comparative cost-effectiveness analytics by leveraging comprehensive provider data to support optimal purchasing and clinical resource usage decisions.
• HealthLoop: HealthLoop is a platform that allows providers to guide patients with complex medical conditions as well as before and after surgical procedures. Care providers can monitor patients' status remotely and detect treatment failures early.
• KitCheck: Using a combination of radiofrequency identification and cloud-based software to track all medications in pharmacy kits, KitCheck improves operational efficiency while increasing safety by managing incorrect and expired medications in trays throughout the hospital.
• Tonic Health: Using a Web-based medical data collection platform that engages patients and predictive analytics, Tonic screens, identifies, and prioritizes patients with a variety of conditions and risks in real time.
• VGBio: VGBio collects vital sign data in an ambulatory setting, focusing on the chronically ill, and wirelessly transmits the data to a cloud-based analytics platform for analysis, identifying patients who are most likely to need further attention.

Tom Main, partner at Oliver Wyman, will moderate the session. He will be joined by a panel of judges, representing leaders across the health industry which include:

• Steve Lieber, president and chief executive officer at HIMSS Worldwide
• Kavita Patel, MD, managing director at the Brookings Institution and practicing primary care internist at Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Glen Tullman, managing partner at 7wire Ventures and former chief executive officer at Allscripts

Attendees at the UHC Annual Conference 2013 will include more than 1,400 health care professionals from academic medical centers and their affiliated hospitals.

"By shining a light on companies that are advancing innovative technology solutions, we hope to help deliver the change we want to see in the industry," said Eric Langshur, chief executive officer at AVIA. "These five companies have unique viewpoints and products that are certain to add great value to providers and patients alike, and we're excited to see them in action at Pulse." 

About UHC
UHC is an alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers, which are focused on delivering world-class patient care. Formed in 1984 and based in Chicago, Ill, UHC fosters collaboration with and among its 118 academic medical center and 299 affiliated hospital members through its renowned solutions in the areas of performance improvement, comparative data and analytics, supply chain management, strategic research, and public policy. UHC helps its members achieve excellence in quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness. UHC's membership includes the leading nonprofit academic medical centers in the United States. For more information, visit uhc.edu.

About AVIA
AVIA is a Chicago-based innovation accelerator that helps healthcare providers successfully implement emerging technology-enabled products and services. Our mission is to advance healthcare providers' innovation goals while conserving time, resources, and capital. By providing business development and operational support, AVIA helps members' executive teams identify, evaluate and implement the best emerging solutions to power their innovation priorities. For more information, please visit: http://aviahealthinnovation.com.

SOURCE UHC