Hospitals, Startups

Aurora Health Care becomes a StartupHealth investor, agrees to work closely with its startups

As part of the deal Aurora has committed to working with digital health startups from its portfolio to change the way care is delivered and reduce the cost of care delivery.

StartUp Health has inked a deal with Aurora Health Care that will make the not-for-profit Wisconsin health system a lead investor in the health tech accelerator, according to a company statement. As part of the deal Aurora has committed to working with digital health startups from its portfolio to change the way care is delivered and reduce the cost of care delivery.

Rick Klein, executive vice president of Aurora’s enterprise business group, said in a statement the investment will help it deliver patient care in an efficient, cost-effective manner.

In an interview with MedCity News, StartUp Health co-founder and CEO Steve Krein claimed Aurora was different from other health systems. It wasn’t just talking about the need to work with entrepreneurs to adopt new technologies in one-off pilots but has made collaboration with digital health entrepreneurs part of its long range plan.

Krein noted that Aurora was the first of half a dozen collaborations of its kind that will be announced this year. They are significantly larger in scope than its work with other partners, such as Cleveland Clinic. He also distinguished it from investors in its fund. Aurora had made a direct investment in StartUp Health.

“This is a roadmap we are designing — it will be the template for what goes forward,” Krein said. “We are calling it a collaboratory.” Organizations willing to be open to external innovation will partner with entrepreneurs willing to work with healthcare organizations and figure out what it will take to make their applications work.

In contrast, Krein noted that its program with GE  went after a cohort of consumer health companies taking different approaches from wearables to mobile health to health IT.

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